# Taylor Kinney
**Taylor Kinney** (born 1981) is an American actor and model best known for playing Lieutenant Kelly Severide on the NBC drama *Chicago Fire* (2012– ) and for his recurring role as the werewolf Mason Lockwood on *The Vampire Diaries*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/7551/taylor-kinney) He has appeared in films including *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), *The Other Woman* (2014), and *The Forest* (2016).[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/taylor_kinney)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981, Lancaster, Pennsylvania[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) |
| Signature role | Lieutenant Kelly Severide on NBC's *Chicago Fire*, cast in the Dick Wolf pilot in February 2012[4](https://www.tvguide.com/news/nbc-taylor-kinney-chicago-fire-pilot-1043581/) |
| Breakthrough year | 2012: Mason Lockwood arc on *The Vampire Diaries* ended, then a role in *Zero Dark Thirty* and the *Chicago Fire* lead[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) |
| First major role | Luke Gianni in the telenovela *Fashion House* (MyNetworkTV, 2006), opposite Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) |
| Best-known film | *Zero Dark Thirty* (2012), which received five Academy Award nominations and won Best Sound Editing[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) |
| Crossover roles | Guest appearances as Severide on *Chicago P.D.* (2014), *Chicago Med* (2015), and *Chicago Justice* (2017)[6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/taylor-kinney/) |
| Personal life | Dated Lady Gaga from 2011, engaged February 2015, engagement called off in July 2016; married model Ashley Cruger in May 2024[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [7](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/chicago-fire-star-taylor-kinney-blazes-trail-19773.html) |
## Early life and education
Kinney was born in [Lancaster, Pennsylvania](https://www.edgepedia.org/lancaster-pennsylvania), where his mother, a dental hygienist, raised him and his three brothers in the suburb of Neffsville.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) He graduated from Lancaster Mennonite High School in 2000 and enrolled at [West Virginia University](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia-university) to study business management.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) He left college during his junior year, moved to Hawaii, and worked as a carpenter before turning to acting.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) He is of German, Swiss-German, and English ancestry.[2](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/7551/taylor-kinney)
## Early career
His first major role came on *Fashion House* (2006), a short-lived American telenovela on [MyNetworkTV](https://www.edgepedia.org/mynetworktv), where he played Luke Gianni, an ambitious young artist who is also the son of [Bo Derek](https://www.edgepedia.org/bo-derek)'s character.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) A Front Row Features profile described that experience as his de facto acting school.[7](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/chicago-fire-star-taylor-kinney-blazes-trail-19773.html) He made his film debut in *White Air* (2007), an action-sports drama set in competitive snowboarding.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/)
Television work followed through the late 2000s: guest parts on *Bones* (2005), *CSI: NY* (2004), and *Castle* (2009), and a lead role as rookie EMT Glenn Morris on the NBC medical drama *Trauma* (2009–2010), which was canceled after one season.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/taylor-kinney/) In 2010 he joined *The Vampire Diaries* during its second season as Mason Lockwood, a former resident of Mystic Falls who returns after seven years to deal with his brother's death and is revealed to be a werewolf with superhuman strength.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) The character was killed by [Damon Salvatore](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-salvatore) ([Ian Somerhalder](https://www.edgepedia.org/ian-somerhalder)) but returned briefly in the third season as a ghost; a retrospective in *Parade*-adjacent coverage and [TV Guide](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-guide)'s retrospective coverage count the ten-episode Lockwood arc as Kinney's best-known role before *Chicago Fire*.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [8](https://www.aol.com/news/look-back-taylor-kinneys-tv-161232786.html) The role led to other opportunities, including a guest turn on Showtime's *Shameless* as a love interest for Emmy Rossum's Fiona.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/)
## Chicago Fire and the One Chicago universe
In February 2012, TV Guide confirmed that Kinney had been cast in [Dick Wolf](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-wolf)'s NBC pilot *Chicago Fire* as Squad Lieutenant Kelly Severide, who leads an elite group of firefighters handling the department's most dangerous fire and rescue missions.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/news/nbc-taylor-kinney-chicago-fire-pilot-1043581/) Derek Haas and Michael Brandt wrote and executive-produced the series with Wolf.[4](https://www.tvguide.com/news/nbc-taylor-kinney-chicago-fire-pilot-1043581/) The show premiered in 2012 and became a long-running hit; Kinney was a central cast member across more than a decade, and in later seasons his character was promoted to Captain in charge of Firehouse 51.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [9](https://parade.com/tv/chicago-fire-season-15-premiere-who-survived-cruz-injury-showrunner-interview)
Kinney took a leave of absence from the show during season 11 in 2023, with Severide written out of episodes temporarily; he returned for season 12.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) As Severide, he has also crossed over to the spin-off series *Chicago P.D.* (2014), *Chicago Med* (2015), and *Chicago Justice* (2017).[6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/taylor-kinney/)
Kinney has said the role requires respect for the real profession. He told *Glamour* in 2014 that going on ride-alongs with Chicago firefighters and wearing their heavy gear for preparation raised his appreciation for what he called "a selfless job."[10](https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-kinney-talks-the-other) In a 2013 interview with Assignment X about season 2, he described the production's pacing: because lighting a skyscraper on fire every week is not practical, the show spends episodes on the characters' personal lives when fires are not the focus.[11](https://www.assignmentx.com/2013/interview-taylor-kinney-chats-chicago-fire-and-the-vampire-diaries/)
## Film work
Kinney's most prominent film role came in 2012 in [Kathryn Bigelow](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathryn-bigelow)'s *Zero Dark Thirty*, the film about the hunt for [Osama bin Laden](https://www.edgepedia.org/osama-bin-laden).[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) He plays Jared, a member of the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group who helps complete the mission against bin Laden.[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) The part is small: he often appears in the background talking with other soldiers, but he gets a visible moment during the main mission.[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and won one, for Best Sound Editing.[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/) Kinney told *People* that he spent two months overseas shooting the film and called working with Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal an amazing experience.[5](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/)
His other films include *Five* (2011, as Tommy), the 2011 television film directed in the anthology format; *The Other Woman* (2014), in which he played Phil, the sane-guy sounding board opposite [Cameron Diaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/cameron-diaz), Leslie Mann, and [Kate Upton](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-upton); *Consumed* (2015, as Eddie Taylor); *Rock the Kasbah* (2015, as Private Barnes); and *The Forest* (2016, as Aiden), a horror film set in Japan's Aokigahara Forest.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/taylor_kinney) • [10](https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-kinney-talks-the-other) • [12](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/taylor-kinney/45338/) On aggregate ratings the film work has been modest: Rotten Tomatoes lists *Least Among Saints* (2012) as his highest-rated film at 36 percent and *Rock the Kasbah* at 7 percent, while Metacritic's television record runs from a high Metascore of 78 for *Five* to a low of 31 for *Fashion House*.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/taylor_kinney) • [6](https://www.metacritic.com/person/taylor-kinney/)
## Personal life
Kinney met the singer-songwriter [Lady Gaga](https://www.edgepedia.org/lady-gaga) in July 2011 while working on the music video for her song "[You and I](https://www.edgepedia.org/you-and-i-lady-gaga-song)," and the two began dating that year.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1978325/?showAllCredits=true) Their romance ran for five years of tabloid coverage; the couple announced their engagement on [Valentine's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentines-day) 2015 and called it off in July 2016, with reports that the two remained friends.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/) • [7](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/chicago-fire-star-taylor-kinney-blazes-trail-19773.html) He married the model Ashley Cruger in May 2024.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/)
Off set, Kinney has described a low-tech personal life: in the 2017 Front Row Features interview he said he did not get an iPhone until the year before, having used a Blackberry until the previous May.[7](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/chicago-fire-star-taylor-kinney-blazes-trail-19773.html)
## References
1. [Taylor Kinney – Actor, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/taylor-kinney/)
2. [Taylor Kinney, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/7551/taylor-kinney)
3. [Taylor Kinney Movie & TV Credits, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/taylor_kinney)
4. [Pilot Season: Vampire Diaries' Taylor Kinney Joins Dick Wolf's Chicago Fire, TV Guide (February 20, 2012)](https://www.tvguide.com/news/nbc-taylor-kinney-chicago-fire-pilot-1043581/)
5. [Taylor Kinney Starred In An Oscar-Winning Movie Right After His Chicago Fire Debut, TVLine](https://www.tvline.com/2089497/taylor-kinney-oscar-winning-movie-zero-dark-thirty-chicago-fire/)
6. [Taylor Kinney, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/taylor-kinney/)
7. ['Chicago Fire' Star Taylor Kinney Blazes Own Trail, Front Row Features (May 16, 2017)](https://frontrowfeatures.com/features-category-of-interviews-and-spotlights/chicago-fire-star-taylor-kinney-blazes-trail-19773.html)
8. [A Look Back at Taylor Kinney's TV & Film Career, From Vampire Diaries to Chicago Fire, AOL](https://www.aol.com/news/look-back-taylor-kinneys-tv-161232786.html)
9. [Who Survived 'Chicago Fire'? Showrunner on Tragic Premiere Injury, Parade](https://parade.com/tv/chicago-fire-season-15-premiere-who-survived-cruz-injury-showrunner-interview)
10. [Taylor Kinney Talks The Other Woman, Chicago Fire, and the Hazards of Hiking With Lady Gaga, Glamour (May 8, 2014)](https://www.glamour.com/story/taylor-kinney-talks-the-other)
11. [Interview: Taylor Kinney chats CHICAGO FIRE and THE VAMPIRE DIARIES, Assignment X](https://www.assignmentx.com/2013/interview-taylor-kinney-chats-chicago-fire-and-the-vampire-diaries/)
12. [Taylor Kinney Biography, Tribute.ca](https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/taylor-kinney/45338/)
13. [Taylor Kinney, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1978325/?showAllCredits=true)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Jo to Kl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license