Blake Lively

Blake Ellender Brown (born August 25, 1987), known professionally as Blake Lively, is an American actress. A daughter of actor Ernie Lively, she made her professional debut in his directorial project Sandman (1998). She had her breakthrough role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its 2008 sequel. Lively achieved stardom with her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012). During this period, she also took on supporting roles in the romantic comedies New York, I Love You (2008) and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), as well as in the thrillers The Town (2010) and Savages (2012).

Lively shifted her focus to films in ensuing years. She starred in the romantic fantasy The Age of Adaline (2015), the survival film The Shallows (2016), the comedy Café Society (2016), and the comedy thriller A Simple Favor (2018) and its 2025 sequel. She expanded her career by directing Taylor Swift's 2021 music video "I Bet You Think About Me", and produced and starred opposite Justin Baldoni in Baldoni's romantic drama It Ends with Us (2024). The latter emerged as her biggest box office success, but drew controversies, resulting in a number of lawsuits, including Lively and Baldoni suing each other for defamation. In 2025, she was included in Time magazine's 100 most influential people list.

Early life

Blake Ellender Brown was born on August 25, 1987, in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Elaine Lively (née McAlpin), worked as a talent scout, and her father, Ernie Lively (né Brown), was an actor. Lively was named after her grandmother's brother. She has an older brother, Eric, and three half-siblings from her mother's previous marriage, Lori, Robyn, and Jason. Her parents and siblings have all worked in the entertainment industry.

During Lively's childhood, her parents took her along to the acting classes they taught, rather than leave her with babysitters. She later said that watching her parents teach helped her learn the "drills" and gain confidence as she got older and began working in the industry herself. She made her professional debut at age 10, appearing in the 1998 film Sandman, directed by her father. Lively describes her role as a "bit part". She was initially not interested in acting and wanted to attend Stanford University.

She is a 2005 graduate of Burbank High School, where she was a cheerleader, a member of the championship choir, and class president. Her elder brother asked his talent agent to send her to several auditions during the summer months. Subsequently, cast as Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), she filmed her scenes between her junior and senior years of high school.

Career

2005–2006: Career beginnings

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was released in 2005. Lively's performance 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 she had minor roles in the horror film, Simon Says. Accepted was not well received by critics, but Lively's performance was, earning her a 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life. Lively starred in Elvis and Anabelle (2007) as Anabelle, a bulimic girl who hoped to win a beauty pageant. She said of getting into character for the role that she had "shed serious weight" for her height. She stated that that process was difficult for her because food was "the No. 1 love of my life."

2007–2012: Gossip Girl

Lively was cast in The CW's series Gossip Girl, based on the novel series Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar, which premiered in September 2007. Already having deferred college for a year, Lively intended to turn the role down and become a student, but was told that she could attend college part-time while filming the show (she later said "This is advice to anyone: when they say, 'We promise, but we can't put it in writing,' there's a reason they can't put it in writing"). She played the role of Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama until 2012 when the show ended. Her first magazine cover was the November 2007 issue of CosmoGirl, where she discussed her time in high school and her career prior to Gossip Girl.

In 2008, Lively reprised her role as Bridget in the sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. Similarly to the first film, Lively's performance was positively received by critics. As of November 2008, the film had earned over $44 million at the box office. In 2009, she appeared as Gabrielle DiMarco in the romantic comedy New York, I Love You, a sequel to the 2006 film Paris, je t'aime. Despite positive critical reception, the film failed at the box office.

Lively portrayed the younger version of the titlular character in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009) to critical acclaim. Paul Byrnes, of the Brisbane Times, described her performance in the film as "sensational". In October 2009, she 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 was directed by and starred Ben Affleck, was released in the United States on September 17, 2010. On her performance, Variety wrote that Lively was "almost unrecognizable [and] has fierce, pained moments as the moll and single mother .. tossed aside." In December of that year, she appeared in the music video for The Lonely Island's "I Just Had Sex" together with Jessica Alba. 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. 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, Lively starred in Oliver Stone's Savages alongside Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta. She replaced Jennifer Lawrence as Ophelia, after Lawrence dropped out to do The Hunger Games. HitFix film critic Drew McWeeny said Lively's performance was "smart and sad precisely because she plays O as such a broken, needy little soul". Also that year, she was selected as the face of the new Gucci fragrance, Gucci Premiere. She appeared in a short film ad directed by Nicolas Winding Refn for the fragrance.

Since 2013: Film career

She starred in the film The Age of Adaline (2015), opposite Michiel Huisman and Harrison Ford, playing a woman who "stops aging after recovering from a near-fatal accident." The Atlantic stated that she showed her "potential as a leading lady" primarily in the second half of the film, citing her "clipped delivery and coy restraint" as well as her "capable perform[ance]" within the emotional intensity of the film. In 2016, Lively starred in the survival horror film The Shallows. It received positive reviews and her performance was praised by critics. That year, she also starred in Woody Allen's romantic comedy film, Café Society which premiered at the 69th Cannes Film Festival. Lively enjoyed her experience working with Allen stating, "It's really cool to work with a director who's done so much, because he knows exactly what he wants", adding that he was "very empowering".

Lively starred opposite Jason Clarke in psychological drama All I See Is You (2016), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews. In 2018, she starred in the mystery-thriller A Simple Favor, alongside Anna Kendrick and Henry Golding, and directed by Paul Feig. The film was released on September 14 and Lively's performance was acclaimed. Variety wrote that "She has her moments .. many of them physical .. Lively's Emily is both repellent and irresistible." Some critics believed Lively could achieve her first Academy Award nomination for the role; however a nomination never eventuated.

Lively next played the lead, a drug-addicted prostitute turned assassin, in The Rhythm Section, the film adaptation of the Mark Burnell novel The Rhythm Section, produced by Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, and directed by Reed Morano. The film was released by Paramount Pictures on January 31, 2020. Variety noted Lively's performance as "display[ing] a realistic near-incompetence in the face of danger [that] makes her relatable in ways very few cinematic assassins have ever been."

In May 2021, it was announced that Lively would star in Lady Killer as the lead character, Josie Schuller. She made her directorial debut as the co-writer and director of the music video for Taylor Swift's song "I Bet You Think About Me" featuring American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, released on November 15, 2021, from Swift's re-recorded album Red (Taylor's Version) (2021). In April 2022, it was announced Lively would make her feature directing debut with an adaptation of the graphic novel Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley, with Edgar Wright writing the screenplay and producing. In January 2023, it was announced that she would star in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel It Ends with Us as the lead character, Lily Bloom.

In August 2024, Lively and her husband Ryan Reynolds became the first married Hollywood couple to have two separate films in which they starred top the box office on the same weekend since Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in 1990, when their respective films It Ends With Us and Deadpool & Wolverine occupied the number one and number two spots at the box office during the August 9–11 weekend.

Several months after the production and release of the romantic drama It Ends with Us, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging she experienced sexual harassment from the film's director and co-star, Justin Baldoni. This leads to a long dispute between the two.

Other ventures

Lively has described herself as a "foodie and cook", and has said that Martha Stewart is her "idol". She has also said that she is a fan of Nigella Lawson's work. In 2008, Lively baked a cake with Stewart during an episode of The Martha Stewart Show. Lively attended a 2010 tailor-made workshop at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and has spoken of her desire to return to the culinary school for further instruction.

She has remarked that, when travelling, she always takes cookery classes to immerse herself in the local culture. Lively has also spoken publicly of her desire to become a restaurateur. In 2011, she created a s'mores cupcake to be sold at Sprinkles bakeries. In 2012, Lively's wedding reception was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings; food photography was the focal point of the picture spread. In 2013, she appeared in Elle Decor to recount her experiences designing a custom La Cornue oven for her newly purchased Bedford home. She filmed a cooking segment in 2013 for Vogue's website, demonstrating how to make a brie pastry.

Lively launched Preserve in 2014, a digital magazine and e-commerce website with hand-made one-of-a-kind items all selected by Lively. In October, 2015, Lively closed the site, stating that it had been launched before it was ready and that she planned rebuild and relaunch it properly.

In 2021, Lively launched Betty Buzz, a line of non-alcoholic drink mixers. In 2023, Lively launched Betty Booze, a line of alcoholic canned cocktails. In 2024, Lively launched Blake Brown, a cruelty-free haircare line.

Personal life

From 2007 to 2010, Lively was in a relationship with her Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley.

Lively first met Ryan Reynolds in early 2010 while filming Green Lantern, in which they co-starred. They began dating in October 2011 and married on September 9, 2012, at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. They have four children, three daughters (born December 2014, September 2016 and October 2019) and a son (born February 2023). The family resides in Pound Ridge, New York. As of 2021 Lively and Reynolds were close friends with singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, who named the characters in her song "Betty" after their daughters. Swift is the godmother to Lively's three daughters.

In a 2012 conversation with Allure, Lively said that she does not drink and has never tried drugs.

Controversies

Wedding at Boone Hall Plantation

In 2012, Lively married actor Ryan Reynolds at Boone Hall Plantation in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, a site historically associated with enslaved African Americans. The venue choice later drew criticism, particularly during renewed public discussion of racial justice beginning in 2020. In August 2020, Lively's husband Reynolds publicly apologized and expressed regret for their use of the Boone Hall Plantation due to its association with slavery stating: "What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest. What we saw after was a place built upon devastating tragedy. Years ago we got married again at home—but shame works in weird ways. A giant fucking mistake like that can either cause you to shut down or it can reframe things and move you into action...Re-patterning and challenging lifelong social conditioning is a job that doesn't end."

Preserve Lifestyle Website and "Allure of Antebellum" Editorial

In 2014 Lively launched a website called Preserve which drew criticism for its editorial tone and thematic focus. That year, Preserve published a fashion editorial titled "Allure of Antebellum", which referenced aesthetics of the pre‑Civil War American South. Critics argued that the editorial romanticized an era defined by slavery while focusing on imagery linked to white Southern elite culture, with one describing it as "an ode to the pre-Civil War south". The website ceased operations in 2015. In 2025, six former staffers of Preserve alleged that they experienced a "toxic" working environment resulting in one allegedly receiving a settlement of up to $300,000 after threatening legal action.

Woody Allen

Blake Lively publicly defended Woody Allen in 2016 while promoting Café Society, which Allen directed. Commenting on the sexual abuse allegations against Allen, Lively stated that it was "dangerous to factor in things you don't know anything about" and indicated she had not reviewed the allegations in detail. She added that she could only speak from her own experience, describing Allen as "empowering to women."

Interview incident

In 2016, Blake Lively participated in a press interview for the film Café Society. During the interview, Norwegian journalist Kjersti Flaa congratulated Lively on her pregnancy, referring to her "little bump." Lively responded, "Congrats on your little bump," which was widely interpreted as sarcastic as Flaa was not pregnant. Lively and her co-star subsequently focused much of their attention on each other rather than engaging with Flaa. The interview gained renewed attention in 2024 after the clip circulated widely on social media with some referring to Lively as "rude" and others accusing her of a "mean girl vibe". Flaa described it as one of the most uncomfortable interviews of her career and stated that the experience had a significant negative impact on her at the time.

It Ends With Us Promotion

During the 2024 promotional campaign for her film It Ends With Us, Lively faced criticism for a marketing approach that some commentators described as overly light‑hearted given the film is centered on domestic violence. Objections focused on promotional messaging encouraging audiences to "wear florals" and attend the film with friends, as well as branded tie‑ins and concurrent promotion of her hair‑care line including her alcohol brand, which some saw as insensitive due to the links between alcohol and domestic abuse. One senior Sony studio executive referred to the decision to cross-promote her haircare line with the film as "epic-level stupid".

Legal Disputes Related to It Ends With Us

Between 2024 and 2025, Lively was involved in highly publicized legal disputes with actor and director Justin Baldoni, her co‑star on It Ends With Us. Lively alleged a hostile work environment and retaliation, which Baldoni denied. The dispute resulted in multiple lawsuits and countersuits and coincided with renewed scrutiny of Lively's past public statements and actions.

Advocacy and endorsements

During the 2008 United States presidential election, Lively expressed her support for Barack Obama. Lively and Penn Badgley appeared in a pro-Obama commercial, as part of MoveOn.org's Youth Vote program. The commercial, directed by Doug Liman, aired during Gossip Girl on the CW, MTV and Comedy Central. In 2013, she appeared in a video clip for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign that aims to raise funds and awareness of women's issues in the areas of education, health, and justice. In addition, Lively has worked to heighten public awareness of missing and exploited children and on-going efforts of law enforcement on their behalf.

In 2011, Lively became a spokeswoman for Chanel and their new Mademoiselle handbag. In October 2013, she became a spokeswoman for L'Oreal.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Awards and nominations

Notes

External links

• at IMDb
• at the TCM Movie Database