Blake Lively

Director & actor · born 25 August 1987 · Los Angeles, California, USA

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 the 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.

Where to start: Deadpool & Wolverine (2024).