Blake Ellender Lively (born August 25, 1987) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles, Lively is the daughter of talent manager Elaine Lively and actor Ernie Lively, and 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 recognition for her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012). Lively had supporting roles in the romantic comedies New York, I Love You (2008), The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), and Café Society (2016), the thrillers The Town (2010) and Savages (2012), and the superhero film Green Lantern (2011). She starred in films such as the romantic fantasy The Age of Adaline (2015), the survival film The Shallows (2016), the comedy thriller A Simple Favor (2018), and the romantic drama It Ends with Us (2024). She has also directed Taylor Swift's music video "I Bet You Think About Me" (2021).