Kat Graham's Personal Life — She Was Once Engaged and Is Now Dating Much-Older Director Darren Genet

“The Vampire Diaries” star Kat Graham has been in a low-key relationship with filmmaker Darren Genet for over a year. Genet is almost two decades older than her.

Born in Geneva, Switzerland, in September 1989, Kat Graham showed up on the entertainment industry scene in 1998 with a small part in Disney Channel’s “The Parent Trap.”

After working on a few other Disney projects, like “Lizzie McGuire” and “Hannah Montana,” Graham landed the part of Bonnie Bennett in “The Vampire Diaries.”

KAT GRAHAM ON “THE VAMPIRE DIARIES”

Graham was one of the main actresses in the show, having interesting storylines in all eight seasons. She once admitted she knew “The Vampire Diaries” would be a hit from the moment she shot the pilot.

She had previously filmed other pilots, but none other had such financial support. The production and pretty much everyone involved – Graham included – always believed the TV series would work.

Graham confessed she felt some bizarre parallelisms between Bonnie and her own journey. Just one day after burying her grandmother, for example, she had to film the death scene of another character. She added:

“And, usually, any major loss on the show, I had dealt with something similar in my own personal life, sans the supernatural aspect of it.”

Fortunately, Graham learned a lot about herself throughout the eight years she portrayed Bonnie on “The Vampire Diaries.” She even considered that playing that character while going through some of her darkest hours was her “saving grace.”

GRAHAM’S CAREER NOWADAYS

After “The Vampire Diaries,” Kat Graham has kept herself quite busy in the entertainment industry, mainly working on Netflix shows and films like “How It Ends” and “The Holiday Calendar.”

Now, she is focused on working on projects that empower and uplift Black characters. Graham believes that young people need to see themselves represented in the film industry as lead characters and not only as tokens or sidekicks.

So, if she’s offered a project where characters of color are not multi-dimensional, she won’t take it. That’s probably one of the reasons why Graham has worked on so many Netflix productions as she once credited them for frequently casting diverse talent.

Graham, whose “The Vampire Diaries” character was criticized for not growing enough, added that other production companies are trying to do what Netflix has done consistently for years: elevate the voices and narratives of Black women.

The couple confirmed their romance on Instagram on Valentine’s Day 2020.

KAT GRAHAM’S DATING HISTORY

The “All Eyez on Me” star’s love life has made headlines a few times in the past. Back in 2012, Kat Graham’s then-boyfriend Cottrell Guidry announced their engagement on his Facebook account.

Although Guidry later deleted the post, he seemingly confirmed the news on Twitter after posting a photo and writing in the caption, “Waiting for Wifey.”

Guidry, an actor, model, and producer, was engaged to Graham for two years. In 2014, after their wedding planning was “basically done,” they parted ways amicably and reportedly remained friends.

In December 2015, over a year after leaving Guidry, Graham was spotted with actor Jay Pharoah going to the “Saturday Night Live” after-party. Their relationship was never confirmed, though.

At the moment, Graham is dating 50-year-old filmmaker Darren Genet. While the couple confirmed their romance on Instagram on Valentine’s Day 2020, most details of their romance are kept under wraps.

Genet, who directed some episodes of “The Vampire Diaries” between 2013 and 2017 and has also worked in “CSI: Miami” and “Good Girls,” created Frequency Films with Graham.

Kat Graham and Darren Genet’s goal is to develop content across different platforms, so it’s fair to say that this couple is ready to take the entertainment industry by storm.