Arielle Kebbel Has Had Quite The Transformation Since Starring In This Hit Teen Drama

If you've been tuning into supernatural dramas or the Hallmark Channel for the past 20-plus years, Arielle Kebbel's face probably looks familiar. The actress got her first big break in 2003, portraying main character Rory Gilmore's romantic rival Lindsay Forester in seasons three through five of "Gilmore Girls." Six years later, Kebbel would go on to appear in another popular teen drama, "The Vampire Diaries," as Lexi Branson in six of the series' eight seasons.

Though many teen actors tend to fade from the spotlight in their adult years, Kebbel has only experienced more success. She has appeared in everything from "90210" to HBO's "Ballers," and she's starred in half a dozen Hallmark films. In 2026, she landed one of her biggest roles yet as deputy U.S. marshal Belle Skinner in "Yellowstone" spinoff "Marshals." Reflecting on her journey and how she has changed as her years in Hollywood have ticked by, Kebbel told Numero Netherlands, "I've learned to shift and grow with the industry flow. I've also learned how important it is to commit to my personal growth and to change above all else. If the industry doesn't accept it right away, I keep going until we're aligned again in a new way." Read on for more about Arielle Kebbel's stunning onscreen transformation from teen-drama mainstay to federal agent.

After getting her start on The CW in "Gilmore Girls" playing Lindsay, who marries Rory Gilmore's ex Dean just after they graduate from high school, Kebbel returned to the network and traded in her platinum-blonde cut and naïveté for darker makeup and a thirst for blood as a vampire and ghost named Lexi Branson in "The Vampire Diaries," who is an old friend of main character Stefan (Paul Wesley). Kebbel would go on to appear in nine episodes across seasons one through five and in season eight.

Though the show experienced some ups and downs over its eight-year run, Kebbel loved every moment of playing Lexi. "My most favorite part was the fact that playing that role gave me a chance to showcase my physical action-oriented side," she said in a 2012 with Honest Reviews Corner. "I got to combine Lexi who is full of so much heart and faith and joy with choking Damon and throwing cops and doing a lot of physical activities." She reflected in a 2026 interview with Stylecaster that she also had fun undergoing various transformations as Lexi returned from different eras in history. "I really loved that because I died in the first episode, every time I came back I got to come back in a different time period. So I never knew what my wardrobe was going to be, what time period it was going to be, until I read the script," she said. "And so getting to be in the '70s, in the 1800s, or whenever, there was just such a difference in the character and so then I'd kind of play with the mannerisms a little bit and enjoy being in the different wardrobes."

In between "Vampire Diaries" appearances in the early 2010s, Kebbel landed a role on The CW teen soap opera "90210" as Vanessa Shaw, a love interest for main character Liam (Matt Lanter) who becomes possessive and controlling. Kebbel can be seen in 15 episodes throughout seasons four and five. She enjoyed playing a more devious and conniving character (Vanessa hits Liam with her car by accident, but lies and tells him she was a witness), telling TVLine, "The fun thing about Vanessa is that you never know what she's going to do next. Vanessa doesn't really ever talk about her past ... She's focused on helping Liam get to where he wants to be in his career and keeping him as her boyfriend."

Kebbel showed more of her dramatic range throughout her run on "90210," carrying out dramatic scenes such as Vanessa beating herself up and framing Adrianna (Jessica Lowndes) and Vanessa falling off a balcony to her apparent death in season five. "The fun thing about taking on roles like that is you're like, 'Okay, this is so out there that I have to just commit to every moment, otherwise what's the point, you know?'" Kebbel told Tommy DiDario on the "I've Never Said This Before" podcast.

By 2010, having already appeared on "The Vampire Diaries" and another vampire-centric show, HBO's "True Blood," Kebbel seemed ready to poke fun at the genre by acting in the satire film "Vampires Suck." She portrayed Rachel, one of a trio of murderous vampires who frequently get mistaken for the musical group The Black Eyed Peas because of Rachel's slight resemblance to Fergie. Though Kebbel was known for her typically short, blonde locks by this point, her character states that she's a natural redhead.

This wasn't the only time Kebbel darkened her hair for a role — she appeared in 2006's "The Grudge 2" and wore a dark wig for her character, Allison Fleming. The following year, she rocked brown hair on the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week carpets. For the most part, however, she doesn't like to mess with her hair too much, telling People in 2026 that she prefers to keep it "straight, simple and classic."

Kebbel got to experiment with new looks and a more complex character on the HBO series "Ballers," which ran from 2015 to 2019 and starred Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Spencer Strasmore, a retired NFL player. Kebbel's character, Tracy Legette, is a sports reporter who has an on-and-off relationship with Spencer and is also fighting for better pay and recognition at her job. Kebbel was excited to audition for the role, saying, "I felt like I totally understood that there were a lot of layers to the character of Tracy that weren't so obvious," per Smashing Interviews Magazine. "She's not interested in the bad reporting, only the good reporting, and that's how she builds relationships with these [football players]."

Tracy's long locks, professionalism, and put-together-yet-casual outfits were perhaps inspired by former ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews, whom Kebbel studied as a way to settle into her character. "There were moments where I'd check in with like, let's say an Erin Andrews or someone, and make sure the wardrobe was current or the lingo as I was interviewing was current," Kebbel said on "The Rich Eisen Show." "But I really wanted to make sure that Tracy was her own individual with her own identity and that she, Tracy the host, was also a different personality than Tracy, the woman with Spencer."

In the 2020s, Kebbel started to find a niche playing first responders: She had a main role on NBC's short-lived "Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt for the Bone Collector" as NYPD officer Amelia Sachs, a part she coveted as a huge fan of the 1999 film adaptation that saw Angelina Jolie transform into a more "masculine" character. Kebbel recalled wanting to bring Jolie's energy into the series and telling the showrunners, "Just being at this audition is so important to me ... I really want to highlight her backstory with PTSD and multiple anxiety disorders and share the layers of brokenness with her in this very strong person," per Showbiz Junkies. She added, "It's a massive physical journey you'll see, just going from beat cop to detective and what that means in her daily life."

Then, from 2022 to 2023, Kebbel appeared in ten episodes of Ryan Murphy's ABC show "9-1-1" as Lucy Donato, a firefighter. Though she's introduced in season five as a love interest for Oliver Stark's character Buck, Kebbel wanted to showcase more layers to her character. "I made a joke during that first episode when someone referred to me as the new love interest. Like, 'Why do I have to be a love interest? Why can't I be a firefighter first?'" she told TVLine. She praised the writers for making Lucy more nuanced than a simple love interest: "When I first read the script and the introduction to Lucy, I really was flipping each page with excitement. Like, 'Oh, she's a badass? Oh, she's funny? Oh, she has a rescue? This is very exciting!'"

Kebbel put her experience playing a firefighter and rescuer to good use in the 2024 Fox series "Rescue: HI Surf," in which she portrayed lifeguard lieutenant Emily Wright. Although the show was canceled after one season, Kebbel loved getting to work in the ocean, do her own stunts, and collaborate with supportive showrunners. "I have never felt more respected on a show in my life ... There were times where if I was really excelling at a stunt, Matt [Kester] would write it in more," she told TV Week. She also appreciated the ability to bring her acting to new heights, telling TV Week, "I've loved a lot of characters in the past, but this was kind of a turning point for me. It's a more mature character. She's complicated, she's layered, she's flawed in a lot of ways — those are beautiful things to bring to life."

Part of creating a layered character was putting thought into her appearance. Kebbel wanted to illustrate how a physically fit woman in a male-dominated field doesn't have to lose her sense of self. "When we started filming, there was talk about cutting my hair even shorter for practical reasons. I said absolutely not," she told Us Weekly. "We cannot cut her hair and further prove that you can't be feminine and celebrate femininity in a man's world." The bob she ended up with, styled in perfect beachy waves, was both cute and fitting for a woman who spends her days running and swimming.

Though Kebbel has been relatively tight-lipped about her relationships over the years, she went public with a partner in 2025 (yet it didn't last long thereafter). Actor Zach Roerig also happened to star on "The Vampire Diaries," though his character, Matt Donovan, didn't share any scenes with Kebbel's Lexi. After the show ended in 2017, Kebbel and Roerig reunited to star in the 2023 Hallmark movie "Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance," in which they portray exes who rebuild their relationship when placed together on a job site. This on-set romance translated into a real-world one: they confirmed they were dating in 2025 when Roerig surprised Kebbel at a "Vampire Diaries" fan convention with flowers, saying how happy he was to "meet this woman, to fall in love with her, and get to work with her" before giving her a passionate kiss (via Instagram).

However, in February 2026, Kebbel told Kaitlyn Bristowe on the "Off the Vine" podcast that she was single. "I haven't been in a relationship in quite some time," Kebbel said. Although the breakup was incredibly difficult, she revealed that she learned a lot about herself because of it: "What it has taught me now is the gratitude of what I've learned and also, 'What do I need to explore to really change?'"

Although Kebbel has made a name for herself mostly through TV series, she has also appeared in films like 2012's "Think Like a Man" and 2018's "Fifty Shades Freed," as well as three installments of the "After We Collided" series. In 2026, she starred in "I Can Only Imagine 2," the sequel to the 2018 biopic about the lead singer of MercyMe. In "I can Only Imagine 2," Kebbel plays Hilary Timmons, wife of Christian musician Tim Timmons (Milo Ventimiglia, who played Jess in "Gilmore Girls"). In a joint interview with Us Weekly, Kebbel and Ventimiglia joked about their one tense scene together on "Gilmore Girls" and how it contrasted with their close onscreen relationship in " I Can Only Imagine 2" more than 20 years later. "I remember Jess saying something snipey about you. He was kind of a jerk," Ventimiglia said. Kebbel told him, "Part of why I was so excited to do the movie was I felt like we had such sweet scenes together, and there was so much joking ... I just loved laughing with you. It was fun to play like that."

Kebbel's character is pregnant in the film, and she and Ventimiglia had fun with the prosthetic belly she had to wear. "I don't even know if it made the movie, but you're pregnant, and I kind of rub your belly for luck," Ventimiglia said in the Us Weekly interview. Kebbel replied, "And then another time you kiss my belly. Every take was a little different."

Taylor Sheridan's "Yellowstone" universe expanded in 2026 with "Marshals," which follows John Dutton's son Kayce (Luke Grimes). Kebbel landed a main role in the show as Belle Skinner, a U.S. marshal with a gambling problem. The actress had to train in firearms handling and horseback riding, as she told CBS. "This job has definitely been the most all-consuming I've ever been in because there's just so much coming at me from all angles all the time, and the training never stops," she said. But her physically demanding roles on shows like "9-1-1" and "Rescue: HI Surf" prepared her for where "Marshals" would take her. "I would say I felt prepared, physically, for a role like this," she told People. "There were times [on past projects] where I would go, 'I don't know if I can keep doing this,' and now I realize it was training me for this."

Kebbel discussed her favorite workouts in a video for women's-health publication Flow Space. "I love hot yoga, like a barre-sculpt type of a yoga blend," she said. "Whenever I'm feeling like I really need to get back into my feminine, I go straight to a pole-dancing class. That's my 'let me bring it back to celebrating my body.'" She elaborated that although she had transformed herself physically, she had some trouble with the weapons training, telling People, "In all my years of stunt training and fight training and weapon training, I hadn't actually used M4s, for example, before."

Though Kebbel kept busy throughout 2026 between "Marshals" and "I Can Only Imagine 2," she had some projects coming down the pipe that she felt personally connected to. "My passions for horses, country music, and spirituality are expanding into my work world," she told Numero Netherlands. "It's the first time in my career that I feel my personal and professional worlds are blending, and it deeply excites me." Her love for horses is, in fact, so strong that she serves as a board member for the horse-rescue organization Skydog Ranch and even adopted her former wild mustang, Snow White, from the sanctuary.

Kebbel hopes to continue pursuing work that is meaningful to her, and with such a wide range of roles and an enduring look that should keep her in demand for years to come, the possibilities are endless. "I check inwards to find where my next creative pull is," she told Numero Netherlands. "I've been producing. I'm working on a few projects I'm very passionate about ... I'm also in an upcoming documentary, 'Blue Zeus,' about a very special wild stallion that is currently doing the festival circuits."