There is surviving, and then there is Katherine Pierce, the woman that redefined the art of self-preservation by surviving against all odds - even if it meant burning down the whole world while at it. She is still one villain that The Vampire Diaries fans can't stop talking about since she was the one who brought a lot of chaos to Mystic Falls. Despite being Elena's doppelgänger, Katherine was nothing like her Gilbert descendant as she proved that no one else's life mattered more than hers.
However, while she was a despicable person all around, there's no doubt that she was one of the most intelligent characters all around too as she spent half a millennium outsmarting one of the most dangerous hybrid in the world, Klaus Mikaelson. While she was lucky with some of her escapes, her survival for all those years was down to the many selfish but smart decisions she made.
11 Katherine Saved Emily Bennett
Emily Bennett was one of the best people that Katherine betrayed in the show. Before she betrayed her, Emily Bennet confirmed that she was once close friends with Katherine and that Katherine even saved her life once in an event that wasn't clarified.
As usual, Katherine did it for herself, and she later collected the debt from Emily by having her create a daylight ring for her. Her friendship with Emily Bennet also enabled Emily to meet Damon and save the vampires from burning at Fell's Church.
10 She Convinced Klaus To Go To New Orleans
After turning into a human and being betrayed by Elijah, Katherine knew that Klaus would finally kill her because she couldn't run for another 500 years. Katherine's survival instincts never went to sleep though as she came up with a plan to give her more time and distance from Klaus. Her revelation about a witch in New Orleans plotting against Klaus seemed to rattle him more than his anger against Katherine.
With Klaus gone, Katherine got her reprieve and used the time to plan how to get her immortality back. By the time Klaus came back to Mystic Falls, he was interested in Caroline, and the thought of killing the "little witch" didn't impress him anymore. Katherine had escaped her worst fear with a single trick.
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8 She Made Peace With Nadia
Despite Katherine being a terrible mother, Nadia never gave up on her - even after she killed her boyfriend Gregor. The mother-daughter reunion had been spoiled by Katherine's insistence on sending Nadia away despite having searched for her for half a millennium.
After being turned into a human, Katherine made peace with Nadia before she died, leading to Nadia helping her with her traveler spell. Nadia also helped compel Matt from giving away Katherine's secret after she invaded Elena's body. The short time she spent in Elena's body was one of Katherine's best moments in The Vampire Diaries as she almost succeeded in getting the second chance she wanted with Stefan.
7 She Moved In With The Salvatore Brothers
Katherine was lucky to convince the Salvatore brothers to allow her to live in the Salvatore Boarding House just as Klaus was coming into town. The brothers were not comfortable with her in the house, but she needed their protection and once again, they gave into her charms.
It gave Damon a chance to save her life when Luka Martins projected himself into the house and nearly staked her. Staying with the brothers in Mystic Falls also allowed Katherine to stay a step ahead of Elijah and Klaus which saved her from her worst nightmare when Klaus finally came for her.
6 She Tied Her Fate To Elena
Given everyone's love for Elena, it's not surprising that she ended up taking advantage of this by linking the two of them together. When the Mystic Gang finally cornered her in the season 2 after Caroline lured her into the enchanted room, they discovered that they could not kill her without killing Elena.
The move was selfish, but it was actually a smart one because she survived to fight another day and actually saved the Mystic Gang as well. Elijah had just come to town and Klaus was in tow so the Mystic Falls Gang would have eventually needed Katherine's expertise in the fight. The group figured out how to unlink her from Elena, but they had bigger problems to deal with than killing her.
5 She Saved Damon And The Mystic Gang
Damon was serious about killing Klaus, but it was bad for everyone because the rest of The Originals would have decimated Mystic Falls if Klaus had died. Katherine convinced Stefan to intervene before Damon could stake Klaus saving the Salvatore brothers and the whole town in the process.
She had spent years running from Klaus, which is why it was in her best interests to let him die, but she put Stefan and his friends' interests ahead of her own. It seemed like the most selfless thing Katherine had ever done, but it was later proved that she only saved Damon so that Elena would be with him and leave Stefan alone. Her move was wise in the end though because Stefan would have been devastated if Damon died (and luckily, he didn't).
4 She Delivered Klaus' Blood To Damon
Katherine didn't keep her dislike of Damon a secret, but Damon was equally up to the task because he had outgrown his feelings for her after realizing what an evil person she was. Despite their mutual dislike, Katherine delivered Klaus' blood to Damon to save him from the deadly werewolf bite which was a big deviation from her usual selfish personality.
She was on vervain, so Klaus' compulsion wasn't working on her which means it was her choice to save Damon. She managed to win a bit of Stefan's trust back which paid off when Elijah finally decided to take his revenge as Damon and Stefan ended up saving her albeit grudgingly.
3 She Befriended Cade And Took Over Hell
It was a shocking twist for the Mystic Gang, but good for Katherine as always, because it made her more powerful than she had ever been when she was alive. When Stefan expelled Katherine from Elena's body, it seemed as if she was finally finished, and it felt a little sad after that warm reunion with Nadia.
Her survival instinct kicked in even in hell as she managed to befriend Arcadias, who was a lot more dangerous than Klaus. When Cade died, Katherine became queen of hell, the greatest achievement her character had in the entire show. Ruling the world of the dead and not having to worry about Klaus and any other immortal enemies killing her must have felt like heaven for her.
2 She Escaped With The Moonstone
The Moonstone acted as Katherine's insurance policy from Klaus for 500 years until she found a human Petrova doppelgänger that Klaus could use alongside the stone to break his curse. When George Lockwood needed something to use in order to help her fake her death, Katherine gladly traded the stone.
As long as the Originals didn't have the stone, they refrained from killing Katherine, which is probably how she managed to survive the five centuries on the run. When Klaus finally found the stone, it became a struggle between him and the Mystic Gang, which took his attention off killing Katherine, allowing her to live until Klaus later decided that killing her at once wasn't punishment enough.