Blake Lively

Blake Lively (born August 25, 1987) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the book-based TV series Gossip Girl. She has also starred in movies such as Accepted and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, as well as its sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Lively began her career with a extra role in 1998 film Sandman alongside her brother Eric Lively and directed by their father Ernie Lively. She then won the role of Bridget Vreeland in the film adaptation of the The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005. Since 2007, Lively stars as Serena in Gossip Girl, which became her breakout role.
Early life
Lively was born in Los Angeles to actors Ernie and Elaine Lively. She was raised as a Southern Baptist.The youngest of five siblings,Lively has a brother, Eric, two half-sisters, Lori and Robyn, and a half-brother, Jason. Both of her parents and all of her siblings are, or have been, in the entertainment industry.During Lively's childhood, her parents would take her with them to acting classes that they taught because they didn't want to leave her with a babysitter.Lively stated that watching her parents teach acting classes helped her learn the "drills" of acting and gain confidence as she got older.Lively stated that as a child, her mother would bring her to Disneyland twice a week as an opportunity "to have some extra time to bond;" Lively stated that due to all the time she spent there, she felt that she "grew up at Disneyland."

Lively's mother, who was a former model from Georgia, inspired Lively to have an interest in clothes when she was a child.During Lively's childhood, her mother would sew clothes and dress her with garments from boutiques and vintage stores. She also tailored adult clothes to fit her. Lively has stated, "She just did that because she was so creative and because she didn't want me to be dressed in big T-shirts cinched with a plastic clip like all the rest of the kids."Lively has stated that, due to her wardrobe, when she attended a private school in Los Angeles in second grade for the first and only time in her life she did not fit in. "It was the only school where people were just downright mean to me.They would make fun of my clothes because I dressed differently than the other kids."

During Lively's' childhood, she attended 13 different schools. When she was three years old, her mother enrolled her in the first grade because Lively's older brother was supposed to start school, but he didn't want to go alone. Her mother told the school Lively was six since she "was so tall".After a few weeks, her teachers "said they would have to put me in mentally disabled classes because I wasn't up to pace with the rest of the kids," and they thought that she "was slow because all I wanted to do was sleep while the other kids were doing their projects." Shortly afterwards Lively's mother took her out of the school.
Lively attended Burbank High School in Burbank; while attending the school, Lively participated in Burbank High School's show choir, In Sync, and was a cheerleader.Lively had originally planned to attend Stanford University after finishing high school, before deciding to pursue an acting career.When Blake was fifteen years old, her older brother Eric took her out of school for two months to go on a grand tour of Europe. While on the trip, Eric used most of the time trying to talk Lively into having an acting career.

Blake Lively was not at all interested in acting but during the summer between her junior and senior years, her brother, Eric, made his agent send her out on a few auditions over a period of a few months; of the few auditions, she got the role of Bridget for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.Lively filmed her scenes in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants between her junior and senior years at Burbank High.In 2008, Lively stated that, while Stanford isn't in her immediate future due to her Gossip Girl filming commitment, she hasn't altogether put aside the idea of getting a college education.She stated that attending Columbia University one day a week is a possibility and the option of being able to attend the school was a factor in accepting her role on Gossip Girl; however, she has not yet enrolled in any classes.
Career
Lively began her acting career at age 11, when she appeared in the 1998 film Sandman, which was directed by Lively's father. Lively describes her role in the film as having been a "bit part".After not having any involvement with acting for almost seven years, Lively appeared in the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005. Lively, appearing with America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, played Bridget, one of the four female leads. Lively's performance in the film earned her a nomination for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice Movie Breakout - Female." With a box office revenue of $42 million, the film was Lively's biggest commercially successful film until it was out-grossed by its sequel.In 2006, she co-starred with Justin Long in Accepted, and Lively, along with her older siblings Robyn, Ernie and Lori, had minor roles in the horror film, Simon Says. While Accepted wasn't well received by critics, Lively's performance was, earning her an award from Hollywood Life, in the category of 'Breakthrough Award'. In 2007, Lively played one of the two title characters in Elvis and Anabelle as Anabelle, a bulimic girl who hoped to win a beauty pageant. Lively said of getting into character for the role that she'd 'shed serious weight' for her height. Lively recalled that: "Beauty queens are still very toned So I lost weight, but I got toned. It was the healthiest I’ve ever been. I just made chicken breasts from Whole Foods on a George Foreman Grill, with asparagus and broccoli.”Lively stated that that process was difficult for her because food is “the No. 1 love of my life.”MovieLine.com praised her performance in the film and credited it as having been her "breakthrough role".Lively was cast in the CW's series Gossip Girl which premiered in September 2007. She plays Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama.While rumors of infighting among the Gossip Girl co-stars have circulated in the tabloids, Lively denies that there is any unfriendly competition on-set. “The media is always trying to pit us against each other," she said, "I guess because it’s just not interesting to say, ‘Everyone gets along; everybody just works 18-hour days and goes home to sleep.’ That’s not fun to read, I guess.”Her first magazine cover was the November 2007 issue of Cosmo Girl, where she discussed her time in high school and her career prior to Gossip Girl.

In 2008, Lively, along with Ferrera, Bledel and Tamblyn, reprised their roles in the 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Similar to the first film, Lively, her three costars and the film were positively received by critics.As of November 2009, the film had earned over $44 million at the box office, taking in slightly more that its predecessor and thus becoming Lively's most commercially successful film to date.In 2009, Lively appeared as a minor role in the romantic comedy, consisting of an ensemble cast, New York, I Love You, a sequel to the 2006 film Paris, je t'aime. The ensemble cast included Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Rachel Bilson, and Orlando Bloom. Similar to the film's predecessor, the film is composed of short films along the theme of finding love.Despite positive reception from critics, the film had a poor box office performance.

Lively's most acclaimed role to date is her supporting role as playing the younger version of the title character in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009).Paul Byrnes, of the BrisbaneTimes, described Lively's performance in the film as being "sensational".The film, also starring Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Robin Wright Penn, debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and is scheduled to have a limited release in the United States on November 27.In October, 2009, Lively began filming her scenes for her role as Krista Coughlin, in the up-coming 2010 The Town, based on Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves.In the film, Lively's role has been described as "the sister of Jem and Doug's ex-girlfriend who has a 19-month old daughter, Shyne.
"The film, which also stars Ben Affleck, is currently in production and is set to be released on September 10, 2010. In an interview with Marie Claire, Lively stated that she wasn't relying on her career as an actress, having felt that having her own interior decorating firm would be a substitute as a back-up plan, having felt that because of her 'fascination' with "colors and textures and layering things." In January 2010 it was announced that Lively would be cast as Carol Ferris in the up-coming 2011 superhero film Green Lantern.

Personal life
Blake Lively dated actor Kelly Blatz from 2004 to 2007; the two had been friends since childhood.In late 2007, rumors circulated that Lively was dating her Gossip Girl co-star and former childhood classmate Penn Badgley.In May 2008, after People magazine published photos of the two kissing while on vacation in Mexico,they have since become more open about their relationship.They have been dating since December 2007. Lively has said that she enjoys cooking, and considers it to be her hobby.Lively, as of November 2009, owns one pet: Penny, a copper-colored Maltipoo dog.

Lively has appeared on the cover of multiple mainstream magazines yearly. In 2007 the list includes Cosmo Girl (November).In 2008 the list includes; Lucky (January), Teen Vogue (March), NYLON (May; with Gossip Girl co-star Meester), Seventeen (August), Girls' Life (August; with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants co-stars Tamblyn, Bledel, and Ferrera), Vanity Fair (August; with Kristen Stewart, Amanda Seyfried and Emma Roberts)and Cosmopolitan (September).In 2009 the list includes Vogue (February cover),Allure (May),Rolling Stone (April),Glamour UK (August),Nylon (November) and Marie Claire (December).In January 2009, Lively was voted one of the top "35 Most Stylish Women To Look Out For" by Glamour UK.Lively was placed at #33 on the Maxim Hot 100 List in 2009, and number 4 in 2010.
During the 2008 United States presidential election Lively expressed her support for Barack Obama over John McCain. Lively and Badgley appeared in a pro-Barack Obama commercial, as part of MoveOn's Youth Vote program. The commercial, directed by Doug Limon, aired during Gossip Girl on CW, MTV and Comedy Central.Lively referred to the comparisons of her to Paris Hilton as being "dumb". Lively cited the only similarities she had to Hilton was that they both have a small dog and blonde hair and felt that they didn't have anything else in common because Lively 'doesn't go to clubs, parties, dance on tables, and doesn't like sex tapes'.Lively has described herself as being a "loving" and "trusting" person to others; which is one of the few things she feels she has in common with her character Serena on Gossip Girl.Lively said, in August 2009 during an interview with UK Glamour, that, while she does worry about her looks and weight - mostly when preparing for filming scenes involving revealing clothing - she doesn't diet. "I do panic before I have to wear a really skimpy outfit, but I don't have enough willpower," she tells the August issue of UK Glamour. "I had to do a scene in a bra and shorts for the first time in two years.On the day of the shoot, I ate a pork burrito, chips and coke. Afterwards, I thought, 'I probably shouldn't have done that.' But whatever." Lively also stated, in the same interview, that she's "never worked out", but thinks that she'd "feel better" if she did and stated that she's "planning on getting a trainer".
Filmography
Film
Year Film Role Notes
2005 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Bridget Vreeland
2006 Accepted Monica Moreland
Simon Says Jenny
2007 Elvis and Anabelle Anabelle Leigh
2008 The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Bridget Vreeland
2009 New York, I Love You Gabrielle DiMarco
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Teenage Pippa Lee
2010 The Town Krista Coughlin post production
2011 Green Lantern Carol Ferris Post-production
Television
Year Title Role Notes
2007—present Gossip Girl Serena van der Woodsen
2009 Saturday Night Live Herself Host

Awards
Awards
Year Result Award Category Nominated Work
2005 Nominated Teen Choice Award Choice Movie Breakout Female The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
2008 Nominated Choice Female Hottie Herself
Won Choice TV Actress Drama Gossip Girl
Choice TV Breakout Star-Female
Won Newport Beach Film Festival Achievement Award-Breakout Performance Elvis and Anabelle
2009 Nominated Prism Awards Performances in a Drama Episode Gossip Girl
Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actress Drama
2010 People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Drama Actress
Pending Teen Choice Award Choice TV Actress Drama