"Vampire Diaries" Exclusive: "True Blood's" Janina Gavankar Relocates to Mystic Falls
by Vlada Gelman
8/2/13


Janina Gavankar is trading one blood-sucking drama for another.

The ex-"True Blood" shape-shifter has booked a potentially recurring gig on Season 5 of "The Vampire Diaries", TVLine has learned exclusively.



Gavankar will play Tessa, a beautiful, exotic and self-assured woman who comes to Mystic Falls to rekindle an old flame.

She first appears in the CW series’ third episode, which is also a flashback hour, as executive producer Caroline Dries recently revealed to TVLine. Could Tessa have some serious history with a resident vamp?



"The Vampire Diaries" returns Thursday, Oct. 3 at 8/7c.

http://tvline.com/2013/08/02/vampire-diaries-season-5-cast-janina-gavankar-tessa/

First Look: Janina Gavankar Joins "The Vampire Diaries"
Sep 6, 2013
by Ileane Rudolph


Mystic Falls gets an infusion of fresh blood when "The Vampire Diaries" premieres on Oct. 3. Among the newbies: Tessa (Janina Gavankar), whom executive producer Caroline Dries describes as "a beautiful and exotic self-assured woman who comes to town to rekindle an old flame."

Could she be burning for Stefan? Or is it Silas, who has assumed the younger Salvatore brother's form? Whoever it is, "Tessa has a definite flair for fun, but she has a tendency to hold a grudge," Dries warns. "You don't want to cross her."

http://www.tvguide.com/News/Vampire-Diaries-Janina-Gavankar-1069962.aspx