Claire Holt

Career 2000s: Breakthrough and early recognition In 2005, Holt won the role of Emma Gilbert in the Network Ten fantasy television show H2O: Just Add Water as her first television role. The show has earned a Logie Award and a Nickelodeon Australia Kids' Choice Award. While the series was renewed for a third season, Holt left the show after season two after signing on for the sequel to the 2007 film The Messengers, titled Messengers 2: The Scarecrow. She was replaced by Indiana Evans' character, Bella. Filming of Messengers 2 took place in Sofia throughout 2008. Starring alongside Norman Reedus and Heather Stephens, the film was released 21 July 2009 straight-to-DVD.

2010s: Worldwide recognition

Claire Holt at The Paley Center For Media's PaleyFest 2014 Honoring "The Originals"

In addition to television and film roles, Holt has appeared in advertisements for Dreamworld, Sizzler, and Queensland Lifesaving. BuddyTV ranked her number 55 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2011 list.

Prior to find success in the United States, Holt revealed that she underwent on a process of 142 auditions before booking her first roles in the country, TV movie Mean Girls 2, which is a sequel to the global phenomenon Mean Girls, and a recurring role in the successful TV series Pretty Little Liars. Holt, later revealed on her Youtube channel and on the "Not skinny but not fat" podcast that she has screen tested for the role of Annabeth in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. The role eventually went to Alexandra Daddario. She has also stated that she first auditioned for the supernatural drama TV series The Secret Circle for the role of Diana, later won by Shelley Hennig, before being considered by Kevin Williamson for The Vampire Diaries.

In August 2011, Holt was confirmed to be in the TV series The Vampire Diaries as Rebekah Mikaelson. On 13 January 2013, The CW announced that Holt had joined the cast for the backdoor pilot of The Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals, where she reprised her role as Rebekah Mikaelson. She exited the show as a series regular in the sixteenth episode of the first season, which aired in the U.S. on 11 March 2014. Holt returned to her role in the season one finale on 13 May 2014, and continued to periodically guest star on the series until its finale on 1 August 2018.

In 2014, Holt was linked to CBS' Supergirl, though she chose not to pursue it. She starred in NBC "event series" Aquarius as Charmain Tully. In 2016, she was cast in the romantic comedy film The Divorce Party, playing the role of Susan. In the same year, Holt was cast in the thriller film "Wolf in the Wild", alongside Frank Grillo, although the project was never finalized.

Holt had a starring role, Kayla, in the ABC thriller drama television pilot Doomsday in 2017, though ABC decided to not move forward with the production of the show. Also that year, Holt starred as Kate in the underwater survival horror film 47 Meters Down, opposite Mandy Moore and Matthew Modine, which was released in theaters on 16 June 2017.

Holt was originally set to have a role in the 2018 drama movie Irreplaceable You, however she later dropped out of the project.

2020s: Established actress In 2021, Holt had a starring role in Untitled Horror Movie. She also collaborated with the brand Andie Swim to design a swimsuit collection. In November of the same year, she appeared in the Originals spin-off series Legacies as Rebekah Mikaelson.

In 2022, Holt appeared again in Legacies as Rebekah Mikaelson for one episode, playing the character for the last time.

In October 2024, Holt collaborated with business company VEE Collective to design her dream set of VEE bags.

In November 2024 and 2025, Holt participated in her third and fourth marathons and her second and third in New York City, in partnership with Maybelline.

In December 2025, Holt released an interview to E! News revealing that she has currently departed from acting to raise her three children.

Other projects

Website and Youtube channel In January 2023, Holt announced that she had opened a website, in which weekly she would bring content to her fans such as make-up, fashion choices, maternity issues and much more. In March 2026, Holt created a YouTube channel named after her website, where she documents various moments and phases of her life through Vlogs.

Fashion: Saint Sirène On April 9, 2026, Holt launched her first clothing brand, Saint Sirène, in collaboration with her friend Madeline Simmer. The concept originated from Holt’s personal search for a white T-shirt that met her expectations. After reaching out to friends and her Instagram audience, she gathered a range of responses highlighting common frustrations and unmet needs. Drawing on this feedback, Holt and Simmer spent a year developing the brand, focusing on three distinct cuts designed to achieve an ideal white T-shirt.

Holt and Simmer are planning to expand their clothing line in the future.

Advocacy In November 2022, Holt decided to run the New York City Marathon to donate her fee to Boston Children's Hospital for a total of $162,000. Holt ran for 26.2 miles reaching her main goal.

In October 2024, Holt ran her second marathon in Chicago, raising over $100,000 to add to the $250,000 she had previously raised for Boston Children's Hospital.

Other appearances Podcast: Evergreen (2023), as Dagny Isaacs.

Personal life In July 2015, Holt became engaged to long-time boyfriend, television producer Matt Kaplan. The two were married on 28 April 2016. On 27 April 2017, Kaplan filed for divorce from Holt, citing "irreconcilable differences". Holt subsequently filed in response on 2 May 2017, also asking for her name to be changed from Kaplan back to Holt.

On 3 December 2017, Holt announced her engagement to real estate executive Andrew Joblon. On 5 March 2018, Holt revealed on Instagram that she had suffered a miscarriage. Holt and Joblon were married on 18 August 2018. They have three children: two sons (born 2019 and 2023) and a daughter (born 2020).

Holt announced that she became an American citizen in November 2019.

Filmography Holt at the Ian Somerhalder Foundation's Influence Affair Red Carpet 2012. + Film roles Year Title Role Notes 2009 Messengers 2: The Scarecrow 2012 Blue Like Jazz Penny 2017 47 Meters Down Kate 2019 Susan Brown 2019 2021 Untitled Horror Movie Kelly Also executive producer

+ Television roles Year Title Role Notes 2006–2008 H2O: Just Add Water Main role (seasons 1–2), 51 episodes 2011 Mean Girls 2 Television film Pretty Little Liars Guest role (season 1); recurring role (season 2); 5 episodes 2011–2014 Recurring role (seasons 3-4); guest role (season 5); 38 episodes 2013–2018 Main role (season 1); recurring role (seasons 2–5); 37 episodes 2015–2016 Aquarius Main role; 22 episodes 2021–2022 Legacies Special guest role; 2 episodes 2023 Based on a True Story TV writer Episode: "Ted Bundy Bottle Opener"

+ Music video roles Year Song Artist Notes 2014 "We Are Done" The Madden Brothers 2017 "Small Town Boy" Dustin Lynch

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result Refs 2014 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy The Originals