Wesley grew up in Marlboro Township, New Jersey. In addition to English, he also knows Polish, having spent four months every year in Poland until the age of 16.
Paul Wesley began his acting career in 1999 when, while still a high school student, he was cast on the daytime soap "Guiding Light".
Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey and Marlboro High School for a period during his high school years. During his junior year in high school, Wesley was cast in the soap opera "Guiding Light"as character Max Nickerson.
He transferred from Marlboro High School to Lakewood Prep School in Howell, New Jersey because the school was able to accommodate his acting schedule. He graduated from there in 2000.
He started college at Rutgers University in New Jersey but left after one semester with his parents' support when more roles were offered to him, and he realized he could make a career out of acting.
In 2005, he began to credit himself as Paul Wesley. When asked why he changed his professional name to Paul Wesley, he replied, "My birthname is too hard to pronounce! I asked my family's permission to change it, and it really helped my career."
He has had a number of roles on shows such as "24", "8 Simple Rules", "American Dreams", "Army Wives", "Cane", "Everwood", "Guiding Light", "Smallville", "The O.C." and "Wolf Lake". He also starred opposite Amber Tamblyn in CBS' "The Russell Girl" and had the lead role in "Fallen" miniseries.
He also had a role in "Roll Bounce" starring Bow Wow. Wesley is currently starring as vampire Stefan Salvatore in "The Vampire Diaries" which premiered in September 2009 on The CW. In the series, he plays a younger brother to Damon Salvatore (played by Ian Somerhalder) as well as the love interest of a 17 year old girl named Elena Gilbert (played by Nina Dobrev). In May 2011, he joined the cast of The Baytown Outlaws.
Filmography:
2004 - "The Last Run" - Seth
2005 - "Roll Bounce" - Troy
2006 - "Cloud 9" - Jackson Fargo
2006 - "Peaceful Warrior" - Trevor
2006 - "Lenexa, 1 Mile" - Rick Lausier
2008 - "Killer Movie" - Jake Tanner
2009 - "Elsewhere" - Billy
2010 - "Beneath the Blue" - Craig Morrison
2012 - "The Baytown Disco" - Anthony Reese
His ex-wife, Torrey Devitto, worked alongside him in "The Vampire Diaries" as Meredith Fell, a doctor in Mystic Falls, in the third season of the show.
They married in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011. In July 2013, it was reported that they had filed for divorce after two years of marriage.
