29 Jan 2014
Blake Lively
Blake Lively (born August 25, 1987) is an American actress and model who starred asSerena 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.
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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”.[6] Lively appeared in the film adaptation of the novel of the same name, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, in 2005 as Bridget, one of the four female leads. Lively’s performance in the film earned her a nomination for a Teen Choice Award for “Choice Movie Breakout – Female.[7]
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.”[8]MovieLine.com praised her performance in the film and credited it as having been her “breakthrough role”.[9]
Lively was cast in the CW’s series Gossip Girl, based on the book series of the same name byCecily von Ziegesar, which premiered in September 2007. She played Serena van der Woodsen in the teen drama.[10] 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.[11]
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.[12][13] As of November 2009, the film had earned over $44 million at the box office.[14] 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.[15][16]
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).[17] Paul Byrnes, of the Brisbane Times, described Lively’s performance in the film as being “sensational”.[18] 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.[19] 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.”[20] 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.”[3][21]
Lively played Carol Ferris, the female lead and love interest of Hal Jordan in the superhero film Green Lantern, which was released in June 2011.[22] The film grossed a worldwide total of $219,851,172.[23] but was considered as a summer flop as it “failed to perform to expectations” even though it grossed more than its budget.[24] Lively appeared in the music video for The Lonely Island’s “I Just Had Sex” together with Jessica Alba in December 2010.[25]
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”.[26] Lively was originally considered for the lead role in Steven Soderbergh’s The Side Effects.[27] It was later reported that Rooney Mara would replace her.[28] Still 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.[29]
