Top 10 Gossip Girl Stars: Where Are They Now?
#10: Michelle Trachtenberg
Michelle Trachtenberg has portrayed some controversial characters throughout the years. She plays a heartless and conniving socialite on “Gossip Girl,” and her character of Dawn Summers in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is still reviled by Buffy fans to this day. Michelle hasn’t been seen much since the conclusion of “Gossip Girl” in 2012, as she’s only made a few one-episode appearances in various TV shows and starred in a few not so well-known movies. Her most substantial role of the late 2010s is probably that of Judy in the animated web series “Human Kind Of,” which airs on Facebook Watch.
#9: Connor Paolo
Connor Paolo got his start in acting at a young age, appearing in Clint Eastwood’s “Mystic River” when he was still in his early teens. “Gossip Girl” followed a few years later, where he went on to portray Eric van der Woodsen, Serena’s younger brother, for the show’s run. After “Gossip Girl”, he starred as Declan Porter in “Revenge,” although his character was written off in the second season finale. Connor has remained relatively quiet in the latter half of the 2010s, having only appeared in one episode of “The Brave” in 2017 and one episode of Channel 4’s “Electric Dreams” in 2018. He also completed a six-episode stint on a show called “Business Doing Pleasure,” where he plays an employee at a sex toy company.
#8: Jessica Szohr
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Despite appearing in a few movies and television shows as a young actress, it was the character of Vanessa Abrams that made Jessica Szohr more well-known. Jessica has kept busy since “Gossip Girl,” landing roles in movies like “The Internship” and “Ted 2.” However, her heart still remains in television, as she starred in three episodes of the revived “Twin Peaks” and had an arc on “Shameless.” In 2018, she was also cast as a series regular on Seth MacFarlane’s “The Orville,” where she portrayed Chief of Security, Tala Keyali. In 2019, she starred in the flicks “Clover” and “All-Star Weekend,” the latter of which was written and directed by Jamie Foxx.
#7: Kelly Rutherford
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Kelly Rutherford had a substantial soap opera acting career before her time as Lily van der Woodsen, but it was her work on “Gossip Girl” that gave her more mainstream exposure. However, Kelly hasn’t forgotten her roots, as 2018 saw her appear in six episodes of the rebooted “Dynasty,” which airs on The CW. In 2019, she starred as Claire Hotchkiss, the rich and powerful founder of Hotchkiss Technologies, in Freeform’s “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists.” Turns out, Kelly really loves to play powerful characters! However, that hasn’t stopped her from having some wholesome fun, as she also starred in a 2017 Christmas TV movie called “The Christmas Wedding Planner.”
#6: Taylor Momsen
It was surprising to see Cindy Lou Who become the edgy Jenny Humphrey. Quite a shock to the system, to say the least! And while Taylor spent several years acting, her heart has always been in music, and in 2009, she helped form a rock band called The Pretty Reckless. Taylor’s role in “Gossip Girl” eventually became more periodic, and she left the show to focus on her musical career - with the band’s 3rd album, Who You Selling For, released in October 2016. The 2017 single, Back to the River, reached #12 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Songs chart, a chart they have topped on four separate occasions.
#5: Ed Westwick
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After moving from England, where he booked some minor acting work, to America, Westwick soon landed the role of Chuck Bass. Talk about luck! This was a huge boost to his career, after which he appeared in movies like “J. Edgar” and “Romeo & Juliet.” In 2017, Westwick became the subject of three separate sexual assault allegations, though he was not legally prosecuted. While these allegations put a pause on his acting career, he has since resumed work on the BBC Two sitcom “White Gold,” whose second season began airing in March of 2019. He stars as charismatic salesman Vincent Swan, the leader of a window company sales team.
#4: Chace Crawford
Aside from a TV movie, it was “Gossip Girl” that essentially served as this actor’s television debut, and he has been going strong in the field ever since. His most substantial role since the conclusion of “Gossip Girl” is that of Billy LeFever in the ABC soap opera “Blood & Oil.” He was also in two episodes of Hulu’s “Casual,” where he played a confident member of Valerie’s storytelling class named Byron. His career will hopefully shoot off yet again with 2019’s “The Boys,” Amazon’s adaptation of the beloved comic series. He plays The Deep, a character in the comic book with superhuman strength and the ability to fly.
#3: Penn Badgley
Penn Badgley originally declined the role of Dan Humphrey, but he obviously relented, and the rest is teen drama history. In 2016, he starred in an independent movie called “The Paper Store,” which earned numerous awards at various film festivals. Badgley was even awarded the Best and Lead Actor awards at both the Oxford and Manchester International Film Festivals respectively. He later starred as Joe Goldberg in the Lifetime-turned-Netflix series “You,” which was renewed for a second season in 2018. His personal life is also flourishing, as he entered a relationship with English singer Domino Kirke in 2014, and the two married in New York in February 2017.
#2: Leighton Meester
Since Meester’s time as Blair Waldorf came to an end, she has continued working in television, and as of 2018 she began starring as single mother Angie D’Amato in the ABC sitcom “Single Parents.” But this actress has also shown her incredible ambition by branching off into music and theater work. In 2014, she starred as Curley’s wife in a Broadway production of “Of Mice and Men,” where she performed alongside James Franco and Chris O’Dowd. That same year she released her debut album, Heartstrings, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart.
#1: Blake Lively
Like Penn Badgley, Blake Lively was going to turn down her role as Serena van der Woodsen, because she wanted to attend college. However, she eventually relented, and “Gossip Girl” had its Serena. “Gossip Girl” helped launch Blake Lively’s career, which has been going strong ever since. In 2018, she appeared in “A Simple Favor” alongside Anna Kendrick. The movie received great reviews and grossed nearly $100 million at the box office. In 2019, she will appear an action-thriller called “The Rhythm Section,” and fans can look forward to “The Husband’s Secret” not too long after, which is an adaptation of the New York Times Bestseller by Liane Moriarty. Oh, and she is famously married to Ryan Reynolds, and two live in New York with their children.
