Blake Lively is an American actress best known for playing Serena van der Woodsen in the CW drama series “Gossip Girl,” which she starred in for six seasons. She hails from a family with a long history in the entertainment business. She was cast as Bridget in the blockbuster film ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ after simply exhibiting her photo at the audition. She cemented her place in Hollywood with films like ‘Accepted’, ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee’, ‘The Town’, ‘Green Lantern’, ‘Savages’, ‘The Age of Adaline’ and ‘The Shallows’. She’s also a successful model who has appeared on the covers of magazines such as L’Oreal and Gucci. In her short career, Lively has already been nominated for numerous accolades and has won a few of them. Lively, who is known as a celebrity homemaker for her passion of cooking and interior design, has participated in a number of cooking classes and has had her cooking equipment and dishes featured in magazines. She is married to Ryan Reynolds, a well-known actor, and they currently reside in Bedford, New York, with their two daughters.
Childhood & Adolescence
Blake Lively was born on August 25, 1987, in Tarzana, Los Angeles, as Blake Ellender Brown. Ernie Lively, her father, was an actor and director, and Elaine Lively, her mother, was a talent scout.
She is the youngest of five children, with three step siblings on her mother’s side. Aside from her parents, she and her siblings Eric, Lori, Robyn, and Jason are also involved in the entertainment industry.
Her parents used to take her to the acting lessons they taught instead of leaving her with a babysitter at home, so she was exposed to acting at a young age. As a result, she began learning the tools of the profession at a young age.
Blake Lively, a graduate of Burbank High School, was a very engaged student during her time there. She served as senior class president, was a member of the cheerleading squad, and sang in the championship choir.
Lively, who had spent her entire childhood preparing to attend Stanford University, went to film auditions to placate her brother Eric, who had asked his agents to send her to them. She has a close relationship with her brother, who, while on a tour of Europe with her, discussed career options for her and discovered that acting was a good fit.
Career of Blake Lively
Blake Lively made her acting debut at the age of ten in a film. Her father directed the film ‘Sandman’ in 1998, and she had a small role in it.
She was cast as Bridget in the film ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ in 2005, one of the four female leads. For her role in the film, she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award.
In the 2006 film ‘Accepted,’ she starred alongside Justin Long. Although the film did not garner positive reviews from reviewers, Lively was awarded the ‘Breakthrough Award’ by Hollywood Life. She also appeared in the horror thriller ‘Simon Says’ that same year.
In the 2007 film ‘Elvis and Anabelle,’ she plays Anabelle, an eating disordered girl competing in a beauty competition. Lively, who considers herself a foodie, had to work hard to reduce weight in order to play the part she did.
In 2007, she was cast in the CW television series ‘Gossip Girl,’ as Serena van der Woodsen. She portrayed the character for six seasons, until the show was cancelled in 2012.
In the sequel to ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,’ she was recast as Bridget in 2008. Her performance gained her praise from the reviewers once more.
In ‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,’ she had a supporting part as the younger version of the main character (2009). Despite her minor role, her “sensational” performance wowed the critics. She also appeared in ‘New York, I Love You,’ a collection of eleven romantic short films by various directors, in 2009.
She starred alongside Ben Affleck in the crime drama ‘The Town,’ based on Chuck Hogan’s novel ‘Prince of Thieves,’ in 2010. Her performance as a young mother in the film was praised by critics.
She starred as the female lead in the blockbuster film ‘Green Lantern’ in 2011. Unfortunately, the film was not a commercial success. She was cast opposite her future husband Ryan Reynolds in the film.
Lively took up the character of Ophelia “O” Sage from Jennifer Lawrence in the 2012 film “Savages.” Drew McWeeny, a film critic for ‘HitFix,’ commended her portrayal as a “broken, desperate little soul.”
In 2015, she appeared in the film ‘The Age of Adaline,’ alongside Michiel Huisman and Harrison Ford. Her most recent role was in the horror film ‘The Shallows,’ which earned positive reviews from critics.
Major Projects of Blake Lively
Blake Lively became well-known for his role as Serena in the television series “Gossip Girl.” Her character had a cult following and affected the fashion choices of a generation of young girls.
Achievements & Awards
Blake Lively won two Teen Choice Awards in 2008 for her participation in the TV show “Gossip Girl.” In 2012, she was nominated for another Teen Choice Award for the series.
Her film ‘The Town,’ released in 2010, earned her two additional accolades. As part of the ensemble cast, she garnered honors from the National Board of Review and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association.
CinemaCon awarded her the ‘Breakthrough Performer of the Year Award’ in 2011. In the same year, she was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people, and she also topped AskMen.com’s list of “most desirable” women.
Personal History and Legacy
Kelly Blatz, Blake Lively’s co-star on ‘Simon Says,’ was her first crush. They dated from 2004 to 2007. They were childhood buddies.
Penn Badgley, her ‘Gossip Girl’ co-star, has known Meghan since they were both homeschooled at the age of eleven. Between 2007 and 2010, the on-screen couple dated in real life.
She has been linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, the star of the film “Titanic,” with whom she spent a fun-filled summer in France. After a five-month relationship, the two broke up in October 2011.
Lively began dating Ryan Reynolds in October 2011, after meeting him on the set of their film ‘Green Lantern.’ They married on September 9, 2012, after purchasing a home in Bedford in June 2012. James and Ines are their two daughters.
Estimated Net Worth
Blake Lively has a net worth of $30 million.
Trivia
At the age of three, Blake Lively, who was tall for her age, was admitted to first grade to accompany her 6-year-old brother Eric, who was too afraid to go to school alone. She went to 13 different schools after that before graduating from elementary school.
In 2010, Lively appeared in a music video with Jessica Alba for the song “I Just Had Sex” off her album “The Lonely Island.”
Salon has dubbed her the “celebrity homemaker” because she is a foodie and a fantastic cook. Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson are two of her favorite cooks.
She starred in Gucci’s ‘Chime for Change’ ad video, which aimed to raise awareness about topics such as women’s education, health, and justice.
In an interview with Cosmo magazine in 2008, she stated that she does not do drugs or consume alcohol, but that she does sleep a lot.