Nina Dobrev Ready for Life After 'Vampire Diaries'

— -- Fans of "The Vampire Diaries" were crushed when star Nina Dobrev announced in April that she was leaving the show, but the 26-year-old actress promises that her exit will be "epic."

"It’s important for me that it be epic and powerful," Dobrev, who has played Elena Gilbert, for the show's six seasons, told the latest issue of Self magazine.

Not only has Dobrev's character come of age on the show, but the 26-year-old actress has as well.

"I feel like I’m a completely different person than I was and I’ve grown so much," said Dobrev. "It’s been a big part of my life, and I want it to be beautiful. I want it to end well."

Though excited for what's ahead, Dobrev calls leaving bittersweet.

"I’ve loved working on this show," she told Self. "It’s been such a crazy, awesome adventure, and I’ve been surrounded by so many people who I consider family. I know this is a new exciting step in the right direction for me, but it’s going to be so strange not to be with them."

That next step involves moving from Atlanta, where the show is filmed, to Hollywood, where Dobrev has already made a splash in films, such as "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," "Let’s Be Cops" and this spring's horror satire "The Final Girls."

"I’m very business-­minded," Dobrev said.

When the actress made the surprise announcement of her departure last month on Instagram, she wrote, "I always knew I wanted Elena's story to be a six-season adventure, and within those six years I got the journey of a lifetime."

During her time on the show, Dobrev dated her co-star, Ian Somerhalder. They split in 2013, and Somerhalder is now married to "Twilight" alum Nikki Reed.

The season finale of "The Vampire Diaries" will air Thursday. The CW has already renewed the show for a seventh season.