Paul Wesley

Background

Ethnicity: Polish ancestry through his parents, Agnieszka and Tomasz Wasilewski.

Paul Wesley was born Paul Thomas Wasilewski on July 23, 1982, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Agnieszka and Tomasz Wasilewski. His parents were Polish, and he grew up in Marlboro Township with his older sister, Monika, and younger sisters, Julia and Leah.

Wesley maintained a connection with Poland during childhood and spent several months there each year until he was sixteen. In addition to English, he learned Polish. He began using the professional name Paul Wesley in 2005, explaining that his birth surname was difficult for many Americans to pronounce.

Education

Wesley attended Christian Brothers Academy in Lincroft, New Jersey, and later studied at Marlboro High School. He transferred to Lakewood Prep School in Howell, New Jersey, which accommodated his acting schedule, and graduated in 2000. His high-school years coincided with the beginning of his professional acting career.

He briefly attended Rutgers University in New Jersey after graduating from Lakewood Prep but left after one semester when continuing acting opportunities made a full-time professional career possible. Rutgers, founded in the colonial period and later designated New Jersey's state university, combines broad undergraduate education with major research programs.

Career

Wesley began acting professionally while still in high school, appearing as Max Nickerson on the daytime soap opera Guiding Light in 1999. During the early 2000s he accumulated television roles in Wolf Lake, Smallville, 24, American Dreams, Everwood, 8 Simple Rules, The O.C., CSI: Miami, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and other series. His early film work included The Last Run, Roll Bounce, Peaceful Warrior, and Killer Movie.

He played Aaron Corbett in the 2007 television miniseries Fallen and appeared in the television film The Russell Girl in 2008. His other film credits from this period included Elsewhere, Beneath the Blue, and The Baytown Outlaws. These roles established him in television drama, genre productions, and independent film before his most prominent series role.

In 2009, Wesley was cast as Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries, which premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009. He played Stefan and several related characters throughout the series' eight-season run, which ended in 2017. He also directed five episodes of The Vampire Diaries and later directed episodes of Shadowhunters, Roswell, New Mexico, Legacies, and Batwoman.

From 2018 to 2020, Wesley starred in the Paramount+ series Tell Me a Story. He subsequently appeared in Flowers in the Attic: The Origin and played James T. Kirk in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, beginning with the series' second season. His later screen work also includes the film History of Evil. Alongside acting and directing, he has received producer credits, including on The Vampire Diaries.

Achievements

• Wesley sustained a leading television career across supernatural drama, anthology television, science fiction, and film, with principal roles in The Vampire Diaries, Tell Me a Story, and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.

• He expanded beyond acting by directing episodes of The Vampire Diaries, Shadowhunters, Roswell, New Mexico, Legacies, and Batwoman.

Works

• TV series

  • The Vampire Diaries

    (Wesley starred as Stefan Salvatore and also directed and ...)

    2009
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

    (Wesley plays James T. Kirk in the Paramount+ science-fict...)

    2022

Interests

• He has expressed an interest in films, including the work of Monica Bellucci.

• Sport & Clubs

  Ice hockey and winter sports.

Connections

Wesley's parents are Agnieszka and Tomasz Wasilewski. His siblings include his older sister Monika and younger sisters Julia and Leah.

He married actor Torrey DeVitto in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011; they divorced in December 2013. Wesley married Ines de Ramon in 2019, and their divorce was finalized in 2024. In July 2026, he married model Natalie Kuckenburg.

Father:

Tomasz Wasilewski

Mother:

Agnieszka Wasilewski

older sister:

Monika Wasilewski

younger sister:

Julia Wasilewski

younger sister:

Leah Wasilewski

ex-wife:

Torrey DeVitto

They married in April 2011 and divorced in December 2013. DeVitto appeared with Wesley in Killer Movie and The Vampire Diaries.

ex-wife:

Ines de Ramon

They married in 2019 and their divorce was finalized in 2024.

Wife:

Natalie Kuckenburg

They married in July 2026.

References

• StarTrek.com: Paul Wesley Joins the Cast of Strange New Worlds Documents Wesley's casting as James T. Kirk and notes his acting, directing, and producing work.
  2022
• The CW Press: The Vampire Diaries Documents the series' September 10, 2009 premiere and Wesley's role as Stefan Salvatore.
• Paul Wesley biography, Us Weekly Provides biographical information about Wesley's birth, upbringing, education, early acting career, principal television roles, and later relationships.