Graham was born in Geneva, Switzerland, and raised in Los Angeles, California, United States. Her father, Joseph, is of Americo-Liberian descent, and her mother, Natasha, was Jewish (from a family from Poland and Russia).[8][9][10] Graham's father was a music executive and the godfather of two of producer Quincy Jones' children. Her paternal grandfather was a UN Ambassador, serving for 40 years in the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, and Kenya.[11] Graham disclosed in an interview that her father left the music industry to work as a journalist under his father for the UN.[11] Her maternal and paternal grandparents were refugees from the Holocaust and Liberia,[12] and she credits them as an inspiration for her work as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR.[13]
Her parents divorced when she was 5 years old.[14] She has a half-brother, Yakov, born in Tel Aviv, Israel.[11] Graham was raised in her mother's Jewish religion[15] and attended a Hebrew school.[16][17]
In December 2008, Graham began filming sci-fi/dance film Boogie Town in Los Angeles. However, shooting the film was put on hold that same month due to payroll issues with background performers. In April 2009, principal photography was stopped due to schedule conflicts with some of her co-stars and other projects. The film is a retelling of the tragedy Romeo and Juliet and is set in a futuristic New York City where dance battles are permanently banned. Graham plays the role of Ingrid. The film was set to be released in theaters worldwide October 2011; however, it was set to be originally released in June 2009.
In March 2009, Graham was cast in The CW supernatural drama series The Vampire Diaries based on the book series of the same name. Graham plays the role of Bonnie Bennett, a young witch, which is considered her breakout role. The series premiered on September 10, 2009, to 4.91 million viewers and received mixed reviews for its progression from critics. In May 2012, the series was renewed for the show's fourth season. She took over as the female lead in 2015 after the Canadian actress Nina Dobrev departed for the seventh season. In 2011, Graham won "Choice TV Female Scene Stealer" at the Teen Choice Awards for her role on the show.[25]
In August 2010, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Graham was cast in the Universal Pictures dance drama film Honey 2. The film is a sequel to the 2003 film Honey. The film follows a troubled girl and aspiring dancer who joins a dance crew. The film was released theatrically in selected countries for a limited release and went on to make over US$8 million worldwide. In June 2011, the film was released direct-to-DVD in North America to negative reviews from critics though Graham's performance and dancing was praised. Later that year, Graham starred in the dance-oriented comedy film, Dance Fu, in which she appeared as the female lead.[citation needed]
In 2002, she wrote a song titled "Derailed", which was featured in the Jean-Claude Van Damme film of the same title.[32] In 2006, Graham pursued a career as a musical artist. Graham found her break in 2007 when she was featured on "The Donque Song" and "I Got It From My Mama" on singer/rapper will.i.am's third studio album Songs About Girls.[33] The move saw Graham embark on a world tour with The Black Eyed Peas as a supporting act for the Black Blue & You Tour. In April 2010, the song "My Boyfriends Back" released on YouTube and got over 1 million views. In October 2010, Graham released her debut single "Sassy". A music video for the song premiered that same month, but the track performed poorly and it failed to chart.[34][35] She then went on to release covers of artists such as Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul which garnered Graham the attention of Paula who praised her cover.[36][37] Graham contributed a cover of the Garbage song "Only Happy When It Rains" to The Vampire Diaries soundtrack. The song premiered in December 2010 in an episode of the series titled "The Sacrifice".[38] In March 2011, Graham released another single titled "I Want It All". The music video released in May 2011.
In February 2012, Graham signed a recording contract with A&M/Octone Records, her first major label signing. In March 2012, Graham released "Put Your Graffiti On Me". The song itself received positive reviews from critics. In the same month, the music video premiered and as of October 19, 2012, had reached 4,843,458 views on YouTube. The song peaked at #5 on the US BillboardHot Dance Club Songs chart.[39] On May 29, Graham performed the track on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. This was marked as her first televised musical performance ever. On that same day Graham released her first EP Against The Wall which debuted at #54 on the iTunes Music Album Chart.[40] The music video for her second single "Wanna Say" was directed by Benny Boom and produced by London Alley.[citation needed] She also appeared on the song "Dog Day Afternoon" from the Ras Kass & Doc Hollywood free collaborative digital albumSpit No Evil. On June 25, 2013, Graham gave the opportunity to five fans to release the name of her new single on Twitter, and released the single premiere of "Power" at Billboard.com the next day.[41] As stated on Billboard.com, Graham also released a new single titled "1991" on March 10, 2015.[42]
On September 25, 2015, Graham released her first studio album Roxbury Drive. Her second studio album was Love Music Funk Magic, released on June 2, 2017. Throughout 2018, Graham released The Dance Collective, a series of short dance videos for old songs, including some unrealized songs, on her YouTube channel.[43]
Graham released her debut as Toro Gato, a new identity embracing her West African culture and ancestry, the EP Toro Gato on September 10, 2021, as a part of her NFT collection.[44][45] A music video of her first single, "Swim," from the album was uploaded onto a separate YouTube channel under the same name as her EP a month prior.[46] She released Toro Gato Pt. II on January 28, 2022; only a day following the upload of the music video for "White Flag," her second single from the project.[47] The full album Toro Gato: Part II (Deluxe Edition) was released the same day in 3 versions, and includes unreleased songs and short films, as well as vinyls, cassettes, and exclusive merchandise. Both albums are exclusively available on the YellowHeart NFT platform for a limited time as a part of the Toro Gato collection. This project is the first time ever that audio and video content is exclusive to view and experience only on an owned NFT.[48]
On June 3, 2022, she released her fourth album titled Long Hot Summer, and announced her first solo world tour in partnership with GLAAD. On September 13, 2023, Graham announced the TIME World Tour 2023/2024, where she intends to perform songs from her entire career.[49][50]
Other ventures
On August 31, 2011, Graham released her debut book, a collection of Neruda styled poems, The Blue Sky Chronicles.
In collaboration with Frank Elaridi and Bryant Wood, Kat Graham founded the wellness company Modern Nirvana in 2019. On October 18, 2022, in collaboration with Jennifer Sodini, Frank Elardi, Bryant Wood, and Illustrator Natalee Miller, Graham released The Modern Nirvana Oracle Deck: Awaken Your Intuition and Deepen Your Awareness -50 Cards & Guidebook.[51]
She hosted with Deepak ChopraThe Consciousness Collective Podcast from 2019 to 2020.[52]
On June 7, 2023, Graham announced the release of her upcoming self-help book titled Seasons of You.[53][54] It was released on November 14 the same year.[55]
Due to her multilingual upbringing, Graham speaks English, French, and Spanish, as well as some Hebrew and Portuguese.[16]
Graham began dating actor Cottrell Guidry in 2008; they became engaged in October 2012. By December 2014, they had ended their relationship.[60] From 2017 to 2023, Graham was in a relationship with producer and director Darren Genet, whom she was engaged to from 2022 until their breakup.[61][62] In October 2023, it was announced that Graham had married her business partner, Bryant Wood, in Los Angeles.[63]
In a 2023 interview with Kelly Clarkson, Graham disclosed that her mother had recently died from an unnamed illness.[64]
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