Nina Dobrev to Leave The CW's 'Vampire Diaries'

LOS ANGELES - Actress Nina Dobrev says she is leaving the CW's hit vampire drama, "Vampire Diaries" after six years.

The actress said on Instagram this afternoon that she is departing from the series this season to pursue other interests. She wrote: "I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six-season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime. I was a human, a vampire, a doppelganger, a crazy immortal, a doppelganger pretending to be human, a human pretending to be a doppelganger. I got kidnapped, killed, resurrected, tortured, cursed, body-snatched, was dead and undead, and there's still so much more to come before the season finale in May."

"I invite you to hop on the roller coaster ride that is Elena Gilbert's life and join me as I celebrate her and prepare to say goodbye to her — and to my work family — as I move on to the next chapter of my life. I want to share this goodbye with all of you (this weekend's pictures were just the beginning). You, the wonderful fandom who gave more love, support and passion than anyone could have ever imagined seven years ago, when a young Degrassi girl from Canada showed up in LA to audition for "that Twilight TV show." ;-)" she said.

Dobrev's exit comes after the departure of Steven R. McQueen who played her on-screen brother

Jeremy), Marguerite MacIntyre (Sheriff Forbes); Michael Trevino (Tyler) who has joined ABC's The Kingmakers pilot. During The Vampire Diaries' run, Dobrev played her character's Dopplegangers, Amara and Tatia, while also serving as the main love interest for show stars Paul Wesley and Ian Somerhalder.