Blake Lively

Blake Ellender Lively born Blake Ellender Brown August 25, 1987 is an American actress, model and celebrity homemaker. She starred as Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama series Gossip Girl, and has appeared in such films as The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Town, Green Lantern, Accepted and Savages. Following her 2012 marriage to actor Ryan Reynolds, the couple relocated to Bedford, a suburb in Westchester County, New York.

Lively began her acting career at age 11, when she appeared in the 1998 film Sandman, which was directed by Lively's father. She describes her role as a "bit part". She appeared in the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in 2005 as 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.

In 2006, Lively co-starred with Justin Long in Accepted, and Lively had minor roles in the horror film, Simon Says. While Accepted was not well received by critics, Lively's performance was, earning her a 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life. In 2007, she 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 had 'shed serious weight' for her height. 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 The CW's series Gossip Girl, based on the book series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar, which premiered in September 2007. She played Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama until 2012 when the show ended. 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 2009 , Lively reprised her role in the sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Similar to the first film, Lively was positively received by critics. As of November 2009, the film had earned over $44 million at the box office. In 2009, Lively appeared as Gabrielle DiMarco, a minor role in the romantic comedy, New York, I Love You, a sequel to the 2006 film Paris, je t'aime. Despite positive critical reception from critics, the film did not fare well at the box office.

One of Lively's most acclaimed roles to date is her supporting role playing the younger version of the title character in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee 2009. Paul Byrnes, of the Brisbane Times, described Lively's performance in the film as being "sensational".

In October 2009, Lively began filming her scenes for her role as Kristina "Kris" Coughlin, in the 2010 film The Town, based on Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The film, which stars Ben Affleck, was released in the United States on September 17, 2010.

Lively played Carol Ferris, the female lead and love interest of Hal Jordan in the superhero film Green Lantern, which was released in June 2011. The film grossed a worldwide total of $219,851,172. but was considered as a summer disappointment as it "failed to perform to expectations" even though it grossed more than its budget. Lively appeared in the music video for The Lonely Island's "I Just Had Sex" together with Jessica Alba in December 2010.

In 2011, she was featured in the annual TIME magazine 100 influential people. Additionally, AskMen.com named her the most desirable woman of 2011 and People magazine named her one of 2012's Most Beautiful at Every Age.

In 2012, she starred in Oliver Stone's Savages alongside Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta. Lively replaced Jennifer Lawrence as Ophelia, the latter dropped out to do The Hunger Games instead. HitFix film critic Drew McWeeny was positive of Lively's work, which he described as "smart and sad precisely because she plays O as such a broken, needy little soul". That same year, she was selected as the face of the new Gucci fragrance titled Gucci Premiere. She appeared in a short film ad directed by Nicolas Winding Refn for the fragrance.

In October 2013, Lively was named the new face of L'Oreal, marking her first major makeup campaign. In the same month, Lively was cast with Ellen Burstyn in the film The Age of Adaline.