Top 10 Stars You Forgot Were on Gossip Girl

Mädchen Amick is perhaps best known for starring as Shelly Johnson in David Lynch’s cult TV show “Twin Peaks”. But in 2008 she had a short-lived and dramatic role as Duchess Catherine Beaton in season 2 of Gossip Girl. In the show, Catherine is a married woman who pursues an affair with the much younger Nate Archibald. However, their relationship becomes increasingly complicated when Nate reveals his romantic feelings for his friend Vanessa Abrams. When Catherine realizes Nate’s true feelings, she threatens to release the location of Nate’s fugitive father to the FBI.

Fashion played a pivotal role in the lives of Gossip Girl’s characters, so it makes perfect sense that fashion icon and consultant Tim Gunn appeared on the show. Prior to gracing “Gossip Girl” with his appearance, Gunn had already established himself as a prolific TV personality. He mentored the designers on Project Runway for 16 seasons, and hosted two spin-offs, “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style” and “Under the Gunn”. Gunn made his “Gossip Girl” cameo in episode 6 of season 4, as Jenny’s fashion consultant and mentor. However, Jenny’s meeting with Gunn takes a turn when she presents her clothing designs, only to realize they’ve been vandalized. Talk about a fashion disaster.

Cyndi Lauper’s discography has inspired and empowered countless women throughout the years, and Blair and Eleanor Waldorf are among her legions of fans. In episode 10 of season 2, Blair tells her mother’s new boyfriend Cyrus that they love Cyndi Lauper, and that they used to re-enact scenes from Lauper’s “Vibes” DVD. Later on in the episode, Cyrus surprises the Waldorfs during Blair’s 18th birthday by inviting Lauper to visit. Lauper’s appearance delighted the Waldorfs and undoubtedly the show’s audience, and helped Cyrus wear down Blair’s icy veneer. Blair always finds a way to get what she wants.

You may recognize Brittany Snow as Chloe from the blockbuster musical comedy series “Pitch Perfect”, but in 2009 she lent her acting chops to star alongside fellow actress Krysten Ritter in episode 24 of season 2. In the episode, Snow plays a young Lily Rhodes who flees from her boarding school to visit her parents and then her older sister Carol in Los Angeles. The episode explores the tumultuous and complex relationship that Lily has with her family but also takes moments to highlight the exuberant youth culture of the 80s. Ultimately, after a few wild adventures, Lily ends up being thrown into jail for the night, only to be bailed out by her sister. Guess we know where Serena got her wild side from.

Armie Hammer will forever be remembered as Oliver from the 2017 coming of age romance film “Call Me By Your Name”. But in 2009 he played a small role as Gabriel Edwards during season 2 of Gossip Girl. Gabriel becomes entangled in the lives of the Upper East Siders when he weds Serena Van Der Woodsen while vacationing with her in Spain. Ultimately, it’s revealed that Gabriel never really harboured romantic feelings for Serena and that he and his ex-girlfriend Poppy Lifton had been scheming together to swindle Serena’s family out of thousands. Guess people are never what they seem to be on the Upper East Side.

From her role as Jane Margolis on “Breaking Bad”to her stint as the hard-drinking, hard-hitting titular hero on “Jessica Jones”, Krysten Ritter is no stranger to playing the bad girl. She appeared in episode 24 of season 2 and portrayed a young Carol Rhodes, Lily Rhodes’ rebellious older sister. The episode is framed as a flashback, and it’s revealed that when Carol was young, she left the Rhodes family to pursue an acting career in Los Angeles. Rejecting her parents’ lifestyle in favor of making her own way, she worked as a waitress while auditioning for various movie roles. Clearly, the Rhodes family is no stranger to drama.

Before landing the role of lovable, Type A Amy Santiago on the sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, Melissa Fumero once played the gullible and preppy Zoe in five episodes spanning seasons 3 and 4. Perhaps better known as one of Blair’s minions, a headband-clad Zoe followed Blair around their college campus, often holding stacks of Blair’s files and following her every command. However, based on Fumero’s positive tweets about starring on the show, we can see that being Blair’s minion couldn’t have been all that bad. Guess Fumero got tired of Manhattan because she eventually traded in her life amongst Upper East Siders for a Brooklyn address.

Tyra Banks has a glamorous career covering everything from modelling to hosting her own show, “America’s Next Top Model”. Banks’ penchant for fashion and beauty made her an obvious choice to star in Gossip Girl. Banks appeared in episode 4 of season 3 to play Ursula Nyquist, an actress co-starring in a movie with Olivia Burke. Ursula has a breakdown when she realizes that her big scene in the movie is being cut, but Serena is ultimately able to console her and talk her out of making a scene at the premiere. Ursula’s flair for the dramatic is certainly matched by Banks’ own strong personality.

Even before turning 20, Hilary Duff was already a well-established actress. She played the titular character on Disney’s hit show “Lizzie McGuire” for 3 years, and starred in numerous movies from “Agent Cody Banks” to “A Cinderella Story”. She brought her acting skills to “Gossip Girl” in 2009 for a recurring role in season 3, marking a departure from her child-star image. She played actress Olivia Burke, an NYU student and star of a series of teen fantasy romance movies. At NYU, Olivia begins dating Dan Humphrey, but their romance is short-lived after Olivia creates complications in Dan’s relationship with Vanessa Abrams.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honourable mentions.

Rachel Zoe

Alexa Chung

Karlie Kloss

Rachel Bilson

Deadmau5

Lady Gaga is a powerhouse who’s done it all: producing chart-topping music, starring in an Oscar-nominated film, and creating her own makeup line. She made a cameo in episode 10 of season 3, to perform her song “Bad Romance” during an NYU Tisch modern re-telling of Snow White. Blair orchestrated Lady Gaga’s appearance as an attempt to win the affection of her NYU peers, but the real stars of the show were Dan and Olivia, who bickered throughout Gaga’s performance. We can’t imagine anyone who’d talk over a Lady Gaga performance but Upper East Siders have rules of their own.