Who Is Blake Lively: Biography, Personal life, Career, Net Worth

Sally Polly April 28, 2022 | 03:01

Blake Lively is an American actress most famous for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in the CW drama series 'Gossip Girl'. Check out the full biography, career, achievements, and net worth of Blake Lively.

Who Is Blake Lively: Biography, Personal life, Career, Net Worth. Photo: TODAY

Blake Ellender Lively (née Brown; born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including three Teen Choice Awards, a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Critics' Choice Awards and an Academy of Country Music Award. Here are her full biography, including personal life, career, net worth.

Who is Blake Lively?

Photo: Getty Images

Blake Lively is an American actress most famous for her role of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW drama series 'Gossip Girl', which ran successfully for six seasons straight. She comes from a family deeply rooted in the entertainment industry. She bagged the role of Bridget in the blockbuster movie 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' by just showing her photograph at the auditioning. 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 is also a successful model who has been the face of famous brands like L’Oreal and Gucci. Lively has already been nominated for numerous awards in her short career so far, and has won many of them. Known as a celebrity homemaker for her love for cooking and interior decoration, Lively has participated in various cooking workshops and has appeared in magazines featuring her cooking equipments and dishes. She is married to famous actor Ryan Reynolds and currently lives in Bedford, New York, with her husband and two daughters.

Early Life And Education

Photo: Harper's Bazaar

Lively was born as Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987, in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Elaine (née McAlpin), worked as a talent scout, and her father, Ernie Lively (né Ernest Wilson Brown Jr.; d. 2021), 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 her childhood, Lively accompanied her parents to the acting classes they taught, as they did not want to leave her with a babysitter. She said that watching her parents teach helped her learn the "drills" and gain confidence as she got older and began working in the industry. She made her professional debut at age 10, when she appeared in the 1998 film Sandman, directed by Lively's father. She describes her role as a "bit part". She was initially not particularly interested in acting and wanted to attend Stanford University.

She attended 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 on a few auditions during the summer months. She was subsequently cast as Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and filmed her scenes between her junior and senior years of high school.

Career And Major Works

Photo: The Independent

Blake Lively first acted in a movie when she was only 10 years old. In 1998, she did a short role in the film 'Sandman', which was directed by her father.

In 2005, she was cast as Bridget, one of the four female leads of the movie 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for her performance in the movie.

She acted opposite Justin Long in the 2006 movie 'Accepted'. The movie failed to receive favorable reviews from critics, but Lively was able to win the 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life. The same year, she also played a minor role in the horror film 'Simon Says'.

She played the role of Anabelle, a girl with an eating disorder competing for a beauty pageant, in the 2007 movie 'Elvis and Anabelle'. Lively, who considers herself a foodie, had to work hard to lose a lot of weight to get into the character she was playing.

In 2007, she was cast to play the role of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW television series 'Gossip Girl'. She played the role for six seasons till 2012, after which the series ended.

In 2008, she was recast as Bridget in the sequel to 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. Once again her performance earned her accolades from the critics.

She got a supporting role as the younger version of the main character in 'The Private Lives of Pippa Lee' (2009). Despite her small role, she charmed the critics with her "sensational" performance. In 2009, she also did a minor role in 'New York, I Love You', a collection of eleven romantic short films by different directors.

In 2010, she was cast opposite Ben Affleck in the crime drama 'The Town', an adaptation of Chuck Hogan's novel 'Prince of Thieves'. Her portrayal of a young mother in the film received critical acclaim.

In 2011, she played the female lead in the superhero movie 'Green Lantern'. The movie, unfortunately, was not a commercial success. In the film, she was cast opposite her future husband Ryan Reynolds.

In the 2012 movie 'Savages', Lively replaced Jennifer Lawrence to play the role of Ophelia "O" Sage. Her portrayal of a "broken, needy little soul" was praised by 'HitFix' film critic Drew McWeeny.

She acted alongside Michiel Huisman and Harrison Ford in the movie 'The Age of Adaline', which was released in 2015. Her most recent performance was in the horror film 'The Shallows', which has been received well by critics.

Major Works

The role of Serena in the television series 'Gossip Girl' made Blake Lively a household name. Her character influenced the fashion choices of a generation of young girls and created a cult following.

Awards & Achievements

Photo: People.com

In 2008, Blake Lively received two Teen Choice Awards for her role in the series 'Gossip Girl'. She won another Teen Choice Award for the series in 2012.

Her 2010 movie 'The Town' brought her two more awards. She received awards from the National Board of Review and Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association as part of the ensemble cast.

In 2011, she won the 'Breakthrough Performer of the Year Award' from CinemaCon. In the same year, she was named among 100 most influential people by 'TIME' magazine and also topped the AskMen.com list of "most desirable" women.

Other activities

Photo: People.com

Celebrity homemaker

Lively describes herself as a "foodie and cook", and has said Martha Stewart is her "idol". She is also a fan of Nigella Lawson's work. In 2008, Lively baked a cake with Stewart during an episode of The Martha Stewart Show. In 2009, Lively stated that she "hoped one day to have an interior decorating company", citing her love for antiques and fascination with "colors and textures and layering things". In 2010, she attended a 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. In 2010 and again in 2011, Lively spoke 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. In 2013, she filmed a cooking segment for Vogue's website, demonstrating how to make a brie pastry. In 2014, she launched Preserve, a digital magazine and e-commerce website with hand-made one-of-a-kind items all selected by Lively; on October 9, 2015, Lively closed the site, stating that it had been launched before it was ready, and that she plans to rebuild and relaunch it properly.

Advocacy

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.

Blake Lively Hobbies

Photo: Glamour

She is a gyming freak. Her height is 5 feet and 10 inches. Her weight is 58 kgs despite delivery. She loves to spend her time in the gym. She is also a fitness expert and runs her youtube channel. This channel is very successful on Youtube. In addition, it is also essential to mention the fact that she recently crossed at least 15 million subscribers on Youtube.

Favourite Things
Favourite Food	Sprinkles’ Red Velvet Cupcakes, pizza, pasta
Favourite Music	Ray Charles, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake
Favourite Places	New York, Paris
Favorite Bands	Chet Baker, Billie Holiday, Edith Piaf, Nina Simone, Florence and the Machine
Favorite Movies	The Wizard of Oz (1939), Breathless (1959)
Favorite Perfume	Burberry The Beat
Favorite Clothing	Jeans, Tube Top, Heels
Favorite Holiday Destination	Hilton Waikoloa Village on the Big Island in Hawaii
Favorite Brands	Marc Jacobs, Phillip Lim, Chloé, Chanel
Favorite Beauty Products	Tarte lip gloss, Chanel foundation, Kérastase hair products star style
Favorite Style Icons	Audrey Hepburn and Kate Moss
Controversies	The Café Society star uploaded a side-by-side image of herself on the Cannes red carpet in a figure-hugging n*de gown, one shot of herself from the front, the other from behind. She captioned the image: “L.A face with an Oakland booty”.

Personal Life & Legacy

Photo: Page Six

Blake Lively's first crush was her 'Simon Says' co-star Kelly Blatz. The two have been childhood friends and dated from 2004 to 2007.

She has known Penn Badgley, her co-star from 'Gossip Girl', since the age of eleven as they were homeschooled together. The onscreen pair dated in real life between 2007 and 2010.

She has been linked to 'Titanic' star Leonardo DiCaprio with whom she spent a fun-filled summer in France. The two broke up in October 2011 after dating for five months.

In October 2011, Lively started dating Ryan Reynolds, whom she met on the sets of their film 'Green Lantern'. They bought a house in Bedford in June 2012 and got married in September 9, 2012. They have two daughters named James and Ines.

Blake Lively Net Worth and Salary

Blake Lively is an American actress and model who has a net worth of $16 million dollars. In 2007 she was cast in the CW series Gossip Girl, based on the book series of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. The show premiered in September 2007. Blake would go on to appear in 121 episodes of the show between 2007 and 2012. At her peak, she earned a salary per episode of $60,000.

Estimated Net Worth in 2022	$16 million
Previous Year's Net Worth (2021)	Under Review
Salary‎	‎$60 Thousand Per Episode
Annual Salary	Under Review
Income Source	Model, actress, celebrity homemaker

Her first magazine cover was the November 2007 issue of Cosmo Girl. In 2011, she has featured in the annual TIME magazine’s 100 Influential People named her The Most Desirable Woman of 2011. People magazine named her one of 2012’s Most Beautiful at Every Age.