Despite being one of The Vampire Diaries' most important characters, Elena Gilbert has yet to appear in its spinoff, Legacies. However, with fresh aspects of her journey having been teased, here's a breakdown of what she's been up to during the latter show's events. Based on L.J. Smith's popular series of books, The Vampire Diaries was developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec. Debuting in 2009 on The CW, the supernatural drama ran for a total of eight seasons. It also spawned two direct spinoffs - first The Originals and, more recently, the aforementioned Legacies.
Actress Nina Dobrev played several roles on The Vampire Diaries. However, Elena was her most prominent and debuted in the pilot episode. Initially (and ultimately) human, Elena served as the audience surrogate when introduced to the various supernatural secrets of Mystic Falls. Her relationships with the vampire brothers Stefan and Damon Salvatore also served as a romantic core of the show. Dobrev remained with the show full-time before she stepped away at the end of The Vampire Diaries season 6. She would eventually return for the show's series finale, allowing her and a newly human Damon to reunite and experience a happy ending. The series finale mentioned that their lives together were long and fulfilled. Details of that life, however, has been, so far, left largely up to audience imagination - with only glimpses of their peaceful afterlives shown.
A tease of where Elena's journey took her next was actually revealed in The Originals' fifth and final season. With Elijah and Klaus returning briefly to Mystic Falls, a window is seen - one emblazoned with the name "Elena Salvatore, M.D." Elena was always shown to be pursuing a career in medicine during her time on The Vampire Diaries. Given the seven-year time jump that occurred on the spinoff show, it's clear that Elena completed her medical training and set herself up as the town doctor. Based on where Legacies takes place in the overall timeline, it's likely that Elena is still very much following in her adoptive father's footsteps and maintaining her practice. Outside of work, she is no doubt also still maintaining a home with her now-husband, Damon.
In Legacies season 1, episode 10, "There's A World Where Your Dreams Came True," a magically-created, alternate timeline also gives a glimpse at more current developments in Elena's life. As the inadvertent creator of the new timeline, Lizzie heard mention of Stefanie Salvatore — the daughter of Elena and Damon named in honor of the late Stefan. It's left unclear whether Stefanie is merely a product of this alternate world or someone from the eventually re-established original timeline. Even if not, however, her arrival is still bound to come fruition one day - and may even be on the road to being conceived parallel to the events of Legacies. Children were always something Elena wanted — and the inability to conceive was something she most lamented about becoming a vampire. Therefore, it's an inevitable outcome of her married life with Damon.
Given the magical and/or healing factors that most at the Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted possess, it's unlikely that they will need her medical expertise. Therefore, she is probably focused, like Matt Donovan, on helping and protecting the human residents of Mystic Falls. Equally, with both Elena and Damon now officially human, their daughter (barring a dramatic twist) will no doubt be the same. As such, she wouldn't need to attend Alaric's special boarding school. Still, with Legacies already confirmed for future seasons, even further teases and reveals will likely emerge. And as long as the show remains on the air, fans of The Vampire Diaries will await them with bated breath and continue to hope for actual physical appearances.