The Stefan Salvatore of The CW hit television drama "The Vampire Diaries" was born Pawel Wasilewski on July 23, 1982 in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He changed his name into Paul Wesley in 2005, reasoning "My birthname is too hard to pronounce! I asked my family's permission to change it, and it really helped my career."

Wesley began acting during his junior high, being cast in the soap opera "Guiding Light" to portray the character of Max Nickerson. He dropped out from Rutgers University in New Jersey after only one semester as there were more roles offered to him that led him to realization he could started a professional acting career.

Since then, Wesley had starring roles on such TV shows, as "24", "8 Simple Rules", "American Dreams", "Army Wives", "Cane", "Everwood", "Guiding Light", "Smallville", "The O.C." and "Wolf Lake". His major part on TV was that of Stefan Salvatore in addition to two other separate characters Silas and Tom Avery. He won two Young Hollywood Awards as well as two Teen Choice Awards for his character on the smash series.

TV aside, Wesley already starred in several big screen flicks, like "Cloud 9", "Peaceful Warrior", "Beneath the Blue", "The Baytown Outlaws", and "Before I Disappear". He, moreover, also directed an episode of "The Vampire Dairies" entitled "Resident Evil".

Wesley was married to actress Torrey DeVitto in April 2011 after meeting and dating her in 2007. They were co-stars in "Killer Movie". The couple separated in 2013 and had their divorce finalized in December the same year. He then dated his "The Vampire Diaries" co-star Phoebe Tonkin.