‘Vampire Diaries’ Star Kat Graham Confirms Exit After Season 8

Another Mystic Falls character will be biting the dust on “The Vampire Diaries.” Actress Kat Graham, who plays witch Bonnie Bennett on the hit CW series, revealed that she will be exiting the show after its eighth season.

Graham, 26, broke the news to Us Weekly while at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday.

“Season 8 will be my last,” she told the outlet. “I just hope that whatever I do after, the crew can come with me.”

The actress did not reveal her reason for leaving the series, but she does have other projects on the horizon. She’s currently signed on to play Jada Pinkett in an upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic, titled “All Eyez on Me.” When she’s not on camera, Graham is working on her singing and modeling career.

“The Vampire Diaries” is currently in its seventh season, and was recently renewed for an eighth. Rumors of the show ending have been circulating for weeks, but the fate of the show has not been confirmed. It’s also unclear how Graham’s exit will impact the show’s biggest twist – Bonnie’s magical connection to Elena (Nina Dobrev).

Dobrev, a series regular since the show premiered in 2009, left at the end of Season 6 to pursue other opportunities. Instead of killing off her character, the show introduced a storyline that would allow Elena to come back at a later time. Villain Kai (Chris Wood) used magic to bind Elena to Bonnie. Elena would remain in a sleep-like coma until Bonnie dies.

Graham’s exit doesn’t mean that Dobrev has to reprise her role as Elena. Show writers could simply write her off by allowing her to leave town, similar to what they did for Steven R. McQueen’s character, Jeremy.