Sara Canning plays Jenna Somers, the loving aunt trying to care for her teenage niece and nephew after the death of their parents, on The CW’s new drama, “The Vampire Diaries.”

Canning’s love of performing began at a very young age; she was a competitive figure skater for much of her childhood and early adolescence. Later, she graduated from the Vancouver Film School’s prestigious acting program.

Canning made her professional acting debut in the stage production of “1984” at the Citadel Theater in Edmonton, Alberta. She soon began working steadily in television, with guest starring roles in series like “Smallville” and “Kyle XY.” Feature film roles swiftly followed, in projects such as “Paparazzi Princess: The Paris Hilton Story, “Slap Shot 3” and “Come Dance at My Wedding.”

Her breakthrough role came with the cable film “Taken in Broad Daylight.” In the based-on-a-true story movie, she starred as Anne Sluti, a teen whose bravery and intelligence led the police to locate her captor after she was abducted from a shopping mall by a deranged killer, played by James Van Der Beek.

Most recently, Canning’s classical training and dialect work came in handy for her role in the independent feature “Black Field,” in which she played a 19th Century Scottish emigre making a life in the untamed Canadian wilderness.

Beyond performing, Canning’s passions also include other aspects of entertainment. Last year, she wrote and produced an independent film, which was developed as her student thesis project.

Canning was born in Gander, Newfoundland and currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia, where “The Vampire Diaries” is filming.

More cast bios: Nina Dobrev (Elena/Katherine) – Ian Somerhalder (Damon Salvatore) – Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) – Katerina Graham (Bonnie Bennett) – Steven R. McQueen (Jeremy Gilbert) – Sara Canning (Aunt Jenna) – Matt Davis (Alaric Saltzman) – Michael Trevino (Tyler Lockwood) – Zack Roerig (Matt Donovan) – Candice Accola (Caroline Forbes) – Kevin Williamson (Executive Producer) – Julie Plec (Executive Producer) – Take a look at our gallery of images of the Vampire Diaries cast!