Bio
Blake Lively is an American actress best known for her leading role as Serena van der Woodsen in the television drama series Gossip Girl, based on the popular book series about privileged teenagers who attend an elite private school in New York City, from 2007-2012.
She also starred in the 2006 comedy film Accepted, and made her big-screen debut in Warner Bros.' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), for which she earned a nomination for Choice Movie Breakout Performance - Female at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards.
She also starred in the independent feature Elvis and Annabelle, opposite Max Minghella and Mary Steenburgen, as well as the sequel to The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in 2008.
The youngest of five children, Lively was born in Tarzana, California, the daughter of actors Ernie and Elaine Lively. She has two sisters, Lori and Robyn, and two brothers, Jason and Eric.
Both of her parents and all four of her siblings are, or have been, in the entertainment industry. Her brother-in-law is Bart Johnson.
As a child, Lively was homeschooled (one of her homeschool classmates was Gossip Girl on-screen boyfriend Penn Badgley).
Lively attended Burbank High School in Burbank where she participated in the National Show Choir, was senior class president and a cheerleader. She stated in a interview for the August 2008 Seventeen magazine that she attended 13 schools.
Lively has said that she was not initially interested in acting. She wanted to attend Stanford University, but during the summer between her junior and senior year of high school, her brother made his agent send her out on a few auditions.
Of the two auditions, she got the role of Bridget for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Lively graduated from high school in 2007 and resides in Los Angeles.