Blake Lively

Blake Ellender Lively was born August 25, 1987. This talented American actress and model got her big break as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl. She has also appeared in movies, including Accepted, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, The Town, Green Lantern, and Savages.

Lively was born in Tarzana, Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actors Elaine Lively (née McAlpin) and Ernie Lively (born Ernest W. Brown). She was raised as a Southern Baptist. She is the youngest of five children: she has an older brother, Eric, two half-sisters, Lori and Robyn, and a half-brother, Jason. Both of her parents and all of her siblings are, or have been, in the entertainment industry. During Lively’s childhood, her parents took her with them to acting classes that they taught because they did not want to leave her with a babysitter. Lively said that watching her parents teach acting classes helped her learn the “drills” of acting and gain confidence as she got older.

Blake Lively began her acting career at age 11, when she appeared in the 1998 film Sandman, which was directed by Lively’s father. Lively describes her role in the film as having been a “bit part”. Initially she was not particularly interested in acting. During the summer between her junior and senior years of high school, her brother Eric asked his agent to send her on a few auditions over a period of a few months. From these few auditions, she got the role of Bridget for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Blake filmed her scenes in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants between her junior and senior years at Burbank High School and performance in the film earned her a nomination for a Teen Choice Award for “Choice Movie Breakout – Female.

In 2006, she 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.[citation needed] In 2007, Lively 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 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. 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 2008, 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 reception from critics, the film had a poor box office performance.

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 Krista Coughlin, in the 2010 film The Town, based on Chuck Hogan’s novel Prince of Thieves. In the film, Lively’s role has been described as “the sister of Jem and Doug’s ex-girlfriend who has a 19-month old daughter, Shyne.” The film, which also stars Ben Affleck, was released in the United States on September 17, 2010 to critical acclaim. In an interview with Marie Claire, Lively stated that she wasn’t relying on her career as an actress, that having her own interior decorating firm could be a substitute as a back-up plan, and because of her “fascination” with “colors and textures and layering things.”

Lively with the cast of Green Lantern at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International she 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 flop 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 2012, she starred in Oliver Stone’s Savages alongside Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta. 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”. Lively was originally considered for the lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s The Side Effects. It was later reported that Rooney Mara would replace her. Also in 2012, Lively was chosen 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.

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 terms of education, health, and justice.

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.

Blake dated actor Kelly Blatz from 2004 to 2007; the two had been friends since childhood. Blake dated fellow Gossip Girl actor Penn Badgley from late 2007 to mid-September 2010. Blake was in a relationship with actor Leonardo DiCaprio from mid-May until October 2011.

Then in October 2011 Blake began dating her Green Lantern co-star Ryan Reynolds. The couple married on September 9, 2012 at Boone Hall in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and announced on October 5th 2014 that they are expecting their first child. Their daughter James was born in December 2014. In April 2016, it was reported that she and Reynolds are expecting their second child.

Blake is now considered a successful Celebrity homemaker and entrepreneur. In 2012, Ryan and Blakes 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 experience of 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.us, a digital magazine and e-commerce website with hand-made one-of-a-kind items all selected by Lively.

Blake Lively joined Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn in the romantic drama The Age of Adaline due in Cinemas April 2015. Blake plays Adaline a woman who ceases to age following an accident one icy night, but keeps her condition a closely guarded secret while embarking on a number of incredible adventures throughout the 20th Century. After years of a solitary life, she finds the love and courage that enable her to fully begin living. The film was a modest commercial success, grossing $54.5 million from a production budget of $25–30 million.

In 2015 she filmed the psychological thriller All I See Is You in Thailand and Spain. The film follows Gina (Lively) and her husband living in Bangkok, Thailand, where they moved for James’ job. Blind for most of her life, Gina depends on James to be her eyes. When Gina gets a corneal transplant, life changes dramatically, allowing her to see their relationship in a new light.

In 2016, Blake starred in the survival horror film The Shallows. It received mostly positive reviews and Lively’s performance was praised by critics. Also in 2016 she starred in Woody Allen’s Café Society which opened the Cannes International Film Festival. The movie follows Jesse Eisenberg’s Bronx-born character Bobby Dorfman as he travels to Hollywood, where he falls in love, and back to New York, where he is swept up in the vibrant world of high society nightclub life.

Fanmail address, if you would like to send Blake a letter.

Blake Lively
Sony Music Entertainment Inc.
550 Madison Avenue
New York, New York 10022-3211
USA

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