These Are All Of Your Favorite ‘Gossip Girl’ Stars, Then And Now

We all know Blake Lively from her late 2000s roles as the beautiful, ~mysterious~, Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl. (And, TBH, in the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.) She pretty much became a fashion icon from her character on the show, acting as the manifestation of the well-dressed blonde bombshell we know and love.

Lively met her now-husband Ryan Reynolds on the set of Green Lantern in 2011. Since then, the couple have gotten married and had three daughters, all while both of them continue to kill it on the big screen. (Um, you know, like in The Age of Adaline, A Simple Favor, and The Rhythm Section?)

Blake has also been sitting in the director’s chair, starting first with this excellent video for Taylor Swift’s “I Bet You Think About Me” from Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021. She was also attached to direct her first feature film, an adaptation of the graphic novel Seconds, from a script by Edgar Wright.

In Blair Waldorf we trust. After making a bunch of guest appearances on TV shows from a young age, Leighton Meester got her big break starring as culture, style, and romance icon Blair Waldorf. She also had a hit with the single "Good Girls Gone Bad" and movies such as Monte Carlo, The Roommate, Country Strong, and tons more.

Don't worry, Leighton is still the woman you know and love. Since her GG days she's starred in a bunch of other TV shows like Making History and Single Parents, just to name a few. Oh, and she also starred in Of Mice and Men on Broadway and released her first solo album, Heartstrings. So she hasn't been busy, like, at all.

Bonus? She's also met and married the love of her life in fellow teen icon Adam Brody (hi Seth Cohen), and the couple have two children together.

Do you ever really get tired of this man boldly stating: I'm Chuck Bass? Answer: No, never. Anyway, this guy got his start playing a role in the 2006 hit movie Children of Men, and then a year later starred as the conniving (and rich) mastermind Chuck Bass.

Here's what's up with this leading man in 2021: He's focused on producing while still dabbling in the acting scene every now and then. He most recently starred in the movie Me, You, Madness.

He's also got a new GF, a model named Tamara Francesconi, and yeah, they're really freakin' cute.

Penn got his start by making guest appearances on tons of TV shows, and then he landed a role in the iconic 2000s film John Tucker Must Die and the rest was history. Shortly after, he landed the role of smitten-with-Serena, wannabe-writer, and stereotypical Brooklynite Dan Humphrey on GG.

ICYMI, Penn is still a major freakin' deal. Ever heard of the Netflix show You? Yeah, that main character and serial-killer guy? That's him. He's starred in tons of other hit movies, too, like Easy A and his most recent flick, Here Today. In other news, he also married singer Domino Kirke in 2017, and they now have one child together. Awww.

You can even follow Penn on TikTok now if you want to see occasional dances and funny bits from the actor.

Swoon. Chace Crawford, aka the much-underestimated Nate Archibald, had the key to all of our hearts. While he made a few appearances in his early acting days, Gossip Girl was preeetty much his first time in any kind of spotlight.

Nowadays, Chace is still out there acting. He's starred in a bunch of different shows like Blood & Oil, Casual, and The Boys. (Yes, that was all of him on the infamous Boys poster.) He appeared in the 2020 thriller Inheritance alongside Lily Collins. You can spot him in the upcoming movie Riptide next.

Taylor Momsen started her acting career super young. Remember her in all your childhood faves? She appeared in Spy Kids 2, Underdog, Saving Shiloh, and, most notably, she was *the* Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas. Then, in 2007, the world came to know her as the unassuming drama-starter and aspiring designer Jenny Humphrey.

Taylor's been focusing on her music ever since leaving Gossip Girl. She's the lead singer of the band The Pretty Reckless, and gained attention during Covid-19 lockdowns by filming tons of songs for her followers. The Pretty Reckless released their latest album, Other Worlds, in 2022.

The singer is also looking a lot more like her early little Humphrey character once again with blonde hair and natural makeup.

Jessica was making all kinds of television appearances before landing the role of Dan's intellectual, grounded BFF Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl. Fans couldn't help but love the no-B.S. energy she brought to the show (and TBH, the chemistry between her and Dan was real).

Jessica is dabbling in all kinds of TV series now that her GG days are over. You can find her starring and making appearances in shows like Shameless, The Orville, Twin Peaks, and more. And in January of 2021, she had her first baby with her partner, professional ice hockey player Brad Richardson! Adorbs.

Born in New York City, Connor trained to be an actor and performer all throughout high school. He landed tons of mini-gigs as guest stars on popular TV shows, but finally got the chance to be the troubled baby brother Eric van der Woodsen in 2007.

After becoming ~kind of a big deal~ from his GG stint, Connor eventually left the show to focus on his role in another hit series, Revenge. Since then, he's he's picked up a ton of bit TV parts on shows like The Resident and The Brave, but has also worked in the movie biz, like with the 2023 war drama Ambush.

Michelle Trachtenberg was the epitome of a child actress—she'd been appearing in commercials and TV shows since the age of three. You'll find her in big-time hits like Ice Princess, Harriet The Spy, 17 Again, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and, yes, as mean girl Georgina Sparks in Gossip Girl.

Michelle has certainly kept herself busy since her Gossip Girl days. She's still doing all kinds of acting, including voice acting on shows like Robot Chicken and Human Kind Of. She's also appeared in a few episodes of some of your favorite shows, like Criminal Minds and Weeds.

She’s also one of the OG Gossip Girl stars that reprised her old role in two episodes of its short-lived revival series for HBO Max, which was unfortunately canceled in January of 2023.

You know the ominous-yet-soothing-AF voice of Gossip Girl that we never actually saw until the end of the series? Yep, Kristen Bell—an icon since her Veronica Mars days—was the Gossip Girl voiceover.

Kristen's work as a voiceover legend didn't stop at Gossip Girl. ICYMI, she's also played insanely successful characters in animated movies like Frozen! Not to mention she did a stellar job starring in four seasons ofThe Good Place, her super-popular series on NBC.

Kristen just starred in the comedy film The People We Hate at the Wedding. She also reprised her original GG role by narrating the new Gossip Girl–what an icon. We loved hearing all the tea straight from her once again.