Well-known for playing Serena van der Woodsen in the drama series Gossip Girl, American actress Blake Lively started acting at the age of 10 when she played the character of a tooth fairy, Trixie in her father`s directorial musical movie Sandman (1998). Some of her most successful movies include The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Elvis and Anabelle (2007), and Green Lantern (2011). She was featured as one of the 100 influential people in the annual TIME magazine in 2011. Apart from her work in the film industry, Lively is a popular face in the advertising industry and she has been the face of several leading fashion and beauty brands in the world.

Early Life
Blake Lively (Blake Ellender Brown) was born to Ernie Lively, an actor-director, and Elaine, a talent scout in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Lively was familiar to acting as she accompanied her parents to the acting classes they conducted. On her brother, Eric's request, during the summer between junior and senior years of high school, Lively auditioned for a few parts and was cast for the movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants as Bridget. The actress also has two half-sisters, Robyn and Lori and a half-brother named Jason. She attended Burbank High School and served as a cheerleader in the school team. She was also the senior class president and was a member of the championship choir.

Personal Life
Lively dated her Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley while they were working together for the show. For a brief period, she dated the Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio before eventually settling down with Ryan Reynolds. The two met while filming for Green Lantern in 2010 and began dating in October 2011. After dating for one year, the couple got married in September 2012. The duo has four children.

TV Career
Blake Lively who already had an elaborate career as a film actress made her debut on the small screen with the popular TV series Gossip Girl (2007-12). The actress who played the role of Serena van der Woodsen appeared in 121 episodes and soon became a household name. For her brilliant performance in the series, the actress won several awards including the Choice TV Actress Drama and Choice TV Breakout Star-Female. Her other popular TV appearance includes the Saturday Night Live, an American late-night live TV sketch comedy where she hosted the show for three episodes.

Movie Career
Lively`s acting career began at the age of 10 with Sandman in 1998. After her maiden film appearance, the actress took a break for seven years before eventually making her comeback with The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005, which earned her a nomination for a Teen Choice Award. Her portrayal of Bridget receive wide appreciation from the critics not only for the 2005 movie but also for its 2008 sequel, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Perfectly sliced between the two movies was Lively`s stint with the teen drama, Gossip Girl from 2007-2012. In 2006, she starred opposite Justin Long in Accepted and although the movie was panned by the critics, Lively`s performance got her the 'Breakthrough Award' from Hollywood Life. The following year, Lively played Annabelle, a bulimic girl hoping to win a beauty pageant in Elvis and Annabelle. The film got 75% approval on Rotten Tomatoes, and Movieline Magazine described it to be "A dark and dreamy slice of Southern Gothic Romance, having all the hallmarks of a cult film in the making, destined for Gen-Z status." The film was cited as Lively`s "wake-up calling card to Hollywood."

In 2009, she was acclaimed for her performance as the young Pippa Sarkissian in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee. Over the next few years, the actress appeared in films like The Town (2010) Green Lantern (2011) where she played the female lead opposite her husband Ryan Reynolds and Hick (2011). In 2012, the actress was cast in Savages after Jennifer Lawrence dropped out of the project. The film directed by Oliver Stone was based on the novel of the same name by Don Winslow and it features Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Taylor- Johnson, Benicio del Toro, Salma Hayek, John Travolta and Emile Hirsch in the lead roles.

In his solitary release in 2015, the actress appeared in the American romantic fantasy film, The Age of Adaline directed by Lee Toland Krieger. Although, the film got mixed reviews it raked in decent numbers at the box office. The actress had quite a busy year in 2016 as he appeared in three films, viz. Cafe Society, The Shallows and All I See Is You. Her other notable releases includes The Rhythm Section (2020), IF (2024) and It Ends with Us (2024).