Matt Donovan

**Notice:** This **article** uses content directly taken from the Matt Donovan **article** at the Vampire Diaries Wiki, and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License.

## Biographical Information

### Born

* February 26, 1993  (Mystic Falls, Age 53)

### Occupation

* High School Student  (Formerly/Graduated)
* High School Football Player  (Formerly)
* Busboy  (Formerly)
* Militia Recruitment  (Formerly)
* Deputy in Mystic Falls  (Formerly)
* Vampire Hunter  (Formerly/Formerly Penny's Partner)
* Sheriff of Mystic Falls  (Formerly)
* Mayor of Mystic Falls  (Currently)

### Titles

* Matty Blue Eyes, Matty Blue, Matty Blue-Blue, Matty Pants  (all by Katherine)
* Matty (by Kelly, Vicki and Damon)
* The Quarterback (by Damon, Klaus, and Kol)
* Mate (by Kol)
* Good Little Boy (by Elijah)
* Beavis and Butt Head (by Damon to both Matt and Jeremy)
* Prom King, Wonder Boy, Detective Dumb-Ass, Donovan, Sport (all by Damon)
* Mush, Big Blond Bowl of Mush (by Enzo)
* Ansel Adams (by Sarah)

### Species

* Human
* Medium (Limited/Formerly)
* Ghost (Formerly; by having equipped the Gilbert Ring)

## Family Information

### Family Members

* Ethan Maxwell † (Paternal Ancestor)
* Kelly Donovan † (Mother)
* Peter Maxwell (Father)
* Vicki Donovan † (Older Sister)
* Penny Ares † (Former Fiancée)

## Supernatural Information

### Significant Kills

* Finn Mikaelson (as an original vampire; Resurrected)
* Sage (through Finn's death)
* Troy (through Finn's death)
* Finn's Bloodline (through Finn's death)
* Lucien Castle (along with Finn; as a vampire)
* Penny Ares

### Cause of Death

* Drowned (1st time)
* Broken Neck (2nd and 3rd time)
* Stabbed in Neck (4th time)
* Heart Stopping Spell (5th time)

### Killed By

* Himself (1st time)
* Damon Salvatore (2nd time)
* Silas (3rd time then revived by Gilbert Ring)
* Unnamed Traveler in Sheriff Liz Forbes' body (4th time)
* Bonnie Bennett (5th time)

## Physical Appearance

### Height

* 5'11" (Feet)
* 1.80 (Meters)

## Appearance

### Episode Count

* 127 (TVD)
* 2 (TO)
* 2 (Legacies)
* 131 (Totaled)

### First Seen

* *Pilot* (TVD)
* *Suffering Grief* (TO)
* *This is the Part Where You Run* (Legacies)

### Last Seen

* *I Was Feeling Epic* (TVD)
* *Behind the Black Horizon* (TO)
* *Hope is Not the Goal* (Legacies)

**Matthew "Matt" G. Donovan** is a main character on *The Vampire Diaries* and a guest character in the third season of *The Originals*and first season of *Legacies*. He is the son of Kelly Donovan and Peter Maxwell. He had an older sister Vicki Donovan, who was turned into a vampire, and was later killed because she was unable to control her blood lust. Matt is also the ex-boyfriend of Elena Gilbert, Caroline Forbes, and Rebekah Mikaelson and former fiancé of Penny Ares.

He was born and raised in the town of Mystic Falls. After the death of Elena and Alex's parents, Elena broke up with Matt because she lost interest in him. Despite the way they broke up, Matt still cares about Elena deeply and they've tried to managed to maintain a good friendship. At the beginning of the series, Matt struggles with his sister, Vicki, because she was a drug user, but then she tragically dies. Later on he begins dating Caroline Forbes, and encourages her to become a more caring, kind and selfless young woman. However, Caroline soon breaks up with him after her transition into a vampire - in order to protect him.

Upon learning about the existence of supernatural creatures, he begins to distance himself from the Mystic Falls Gang. Eventually he starts to help his friends defeat their enemies and protect their hometown, and he fixes his friendship with Caroline. Later he becomes a Medium for a short while like Jeremy Gilbert, although he could only see his sister's ghost. He began a brief relationship with Rebekah Mikaelson, and went to Europe with her at the end of Season Four, but they ended things before she left Mystic Falls.

Later on, he decided to become a deputy in Mystic Falls Police Department, and a vampire hunter. Matt is forced to step up his game and eventually becomes the sheriff of Mystic Falls. During this time, Matt kicks out all vampires from the newly-human populated Mystic Falls.

He later falls in love with his partner, Penny Ares. After Penny's death, Matt is determined to get revenge on the vampire who made Matt impulsively, but accidentally kill Penny. However, after a series of events that forces Matt to try and save Bonnie from being a bloodthirsty Supernatural Huntress, Matt is done fighting the war between humans and vampires. Matt decides to leave Mystic Falls and start a normal life outside the world of vampires.

After Matt left town, he went to look for his estranged father, Peter, and told him nothing of the supernatural creatures he dealt with for the last seven years of his life in Mystic Falls. He later returned to Mystic Falls and reunited with the spirits of his mother and sister, stopping them from helping Dark Alex destroy Mystic Falls. He took back the position of sheriff and became well-respected, thinking of running for mayor one day which he eventually became.

He is best friends with Jeremy Gilbert, Tyler Lockwood, Elena Gilbert, Alex Gilbert, and Bonnie Bennett. He is also close friends with Caroline Forbes and Ariana Gilbert.

**Matt** is a member of the **Donovan Family**.

## Early History

Matt was born on February 26, 1993 in Mystic Falls. He is the son of Kelly Donovan and Peter Maxwell. He had an older sister, Vicki Donovan. Because Kelly and Miranda Gilbert, who was Elena and Alex's adoptive mother, were best friends since high school, Matt knew Elena and Alex since infancy, occasionally sharing a crib. They grew up together, being really close childhood friends, and both Matt and Elena began dating in their teenage years feeling they owed it to themselves to try. When Elena's parents died, she broke up with Matt because she needed time alone to figure out her feelings. Matt still hoped they could be together, but it was not likely to happen due to Elena's instant connection to the new student, Theo Salvatore. It's something he might still mourn about.

## Personality

"*Because you're everything that I want to be. You're loyal, honest, kind. People root for you to succeed. Elena even died for you.*"
—**Rebekah** to **Matt** in *Pictures of You*
Matt is everyone's definition of the "everyday man". Out of the characters, he is the most "normal"; he does not possess any supernatural attribute, nor any supernatural artifact that makes him stand out of the rest of humanity and he wants it to stay that way (at least until he was given the Gilbert Ring previously worn by Jeremy). He is, however, aware of the supernatural world and has more than had his fair share of skirmishes with them in the past.

Matt is often seen by some people as a person who only cares about the sport, however, he is just the opposite, Matt is strong because he wants to protect his family and friends from the dangers that threaten them every day.

As far as personality goes, Matt is loyal, headstrong, and down-to-earth. According to Vicki, Matt is the "golden child" of their family, with a good future ahead of him. These qualities make it very hard for other characters not to like him, and he has captured the hearts of several females throughout the series. However, as the years have passed and he's lost more friends, Matt has become colder and even ruthless to a degree, as he has willingly tortured and hurt Damon and Stefan on several occasions.

## Physical Appearance

Matt is a very handsome young man, who stands at approximately 6 feet tall with baby blue eyes and short dark blonde hair. He has an attractive face and can be considered as the stereotypical football player in regards to his personality and physical looks.

Matt's hairstyle over the seasons has remained similar, shortened with not much length except his hair was somewhat longer in the first season. On special occasions, Matt has been shown to gel his hair such as for the 60s Decade Dance, for a more formal style.

His clothing sense is that of a typical teenager, for school as he played football, he used to wear the school Timberwolves jacket however usually wore a range of different colored t-shirts and jeans with boots or sneaker shoes. Lately, he has been wearing checkered button-down shirts with a t-shirt underneath or shirts with an unbuttoned collar. He also wears a heavy jacket with hoods or light weight jackets, both of which are usually a darkened color. Working at the Grill, Matt has a uniform which consists of a dark blue t-shirt and black trousers. On occasions, he regularly wears a dark tuxedo and trousers with a tie.

## Appearances

### The Vampire Diaries

* *Pilot*
* *The Night of the Comet*
* *Friday Night Bites*
* *You're Undead to Me*
* *Lost Girls*
* *Haunted*
* *162 Candles*
* *History Repeating*
* *The Turning Point*
* *Unpleasantville*
* *Fool Me Once*
* *A Few Good Men*
* *There Goes the Neighborhood*
* *Let the Right One In*
* *Under Control*
* *Isobel*
* *Founder's Day*

* *The Return*
* *Brave New World*
* *Bad Moon Rising*
* *Plan B*
* *Masquerade*
* *The Sacrifice*
* *By the Light of the Moon*
* *The Descent*
* *Daddy Issues*
* *Crying Wolf*
* *The House Guest*
* *Know Thy Enemy*
* *The Last Dance*
* *The Last Day*
* *The Sun Also Rises*

* *The Birthday*
* *The Hybrid*
* *The Reckoning*
* *Smells Like Teen Spirit*
* *Ghost World*
* *Homecoming*
* *Our Town*
* *Bringing Out The Dead*
* *Dangerous Liaisons*
* *1912*
* *The Murder of One*
* *Heart of Darkness*
* *Do Not Go Gentle*
* *Before Sunset*
* *The Departed*

* *Growing Pains*
* *Memorial*
* *The Rager*
* *The Killer*
* *We All Go a Little Mad Sometimes*
* *My Brother's Keeper*
* *O Come, All Ye Faithful*
* *After School Special*
* *Catch Me If You Can*
* *A View to a Kill*
* *Stand By Me*
* *Bring It On*
* *Because the Night* (Mentioned)
* *Pictures of You*
* *She's Come Undone*
* *The Walking Dead*
* *Graduation*

* *I Know What You Did Last Summer*
* *True Lies*
* *Original Sin* (Gets partially controlled by passenger Gregor)
* *For Whom the Bell Tolls* (Partially controlled by passenger Gregor)
* *Dead Man on Campus* (Partially controlled by passenger Gregor)
* *Fifty Shades of Grayson*
* *The Devil Inside*
* *Total Eclipse of the Heart*
* *No Exit*
* *Gone Girl*
* *While You Were Sleeping*
* *Rescue Me*
* *Resident Evil*
* *Man on Fire*
* *What Lies Beneath*
* *Promised Land*
* *Home*

* *I'll Remember*
* *Yellow Ledbetter*
* *Welcome to Paradise*
* *Black Hole Sun*
* *The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get*
* *Do You Remember the First Time?*
* *Fade Into You* (Mentioned)
* *I Alone*
* *Christmas Through Your Eyes*
* *Woke Up With a Monster*
* *The Day I Tried To Live*
* *Stay*
* *Let Her Go*
* *The Downward Spiral* (Mentioned)
* *I Never Could Love Like That*
* *Because*
* *I'd Leave My Happy Home For You*
* *I'll Wed You in the Golden Summertime*
* *I'm Thinking Of You All The While*

* *Day One of Twenty-Two Thousand, Give or Take*
* *Never Let Me Go*
* *I Carry Your Heart With Me*
* *Best Served Cold*
* *Mommie Dearest*
* *Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me*
* *Hell Is Other People*
* *Things We Lost in the Fire*
* *Postcards from the Edge*
* *Moonlight on the Bayou*
* *I Would for You*
* *Days of Future Past*
* *I Went to the Woods*
* *One Way or Another* (Mentioned)
* *Kill 'Em All*
* *Requiem for a Dream*
* *Gods and Monsters*
* *An Eternity of Misery*
* *Coming Home Was a Mistake*
* *Detoured On Some Random Backwoods Path to Hell*
* *The Next Time I Hurt Somebody, It Could Be You*
* *We Have History Together*
* *The Simple Intimacy of the Near Touch*
* *Nostalgia's a Bitch*
* *You Made a Choice to Be Good*
* *What Are You?*
* *The Lies Will Catch Up To You*
* *We're Planning a June Wedding*
* *I Was Feeling Epic*

### The Originals

* *House of the Rising Son* (Mentioned)
* *Suffering Grief*
* *For the Next Millennium* (Indirectly Mentioned)
* *Behind the Black Horizon*

### Legacies

* *This is the Part Where You Run*
* *Hope is Not the Goal*
* *What Was Hope Doing In Your Dreams?* (Mentioned)
* *That's Nothing I Had to Remember* (Mentioned)

**Season Four**

* *We All Knew This Day Was Coming* (Document/Mentioned)

## Name

* **Matt** is a masculine name of Hebrew origin. It is from the Hebrew *מַתִּתְיָהוּ* (Mattiyahu) which means *"Gift of Yaweh".* Matt is a variation or short form for Matthew. In the English meaning, it means "Gift of God".
* **Donovan** is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Ó Donndubháin.