What are Gossip Girl’s cast members up to in 2024? From Blake Lively’s music video with Taylor Swift and Penn Badgley’s Netflix hit You to Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford’s projects
Teen drama series Gossip Girl might have concluded 12 years ago ... but it maintains its currency even today. The “It” girl phenomenon is only the start.
The show continues to inspire fashion and beauty trends, and is widely referenced in film, television and pop culture. It even influenced several other TV shows like Pretty Little Liars and, most recently, Netflix’s Spanish teen thriller Elite.
So as the show remains relevant today, where are its cast members now? Here’s what we know about Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen and the rest ...
1. Blake Lively, 36
Blake Lively played the protagonist of Gossip Girl, socialite Serena van der Woodsen. After skyrocketing to fame, Lively has remained largely active on the silver screen, appearing in films like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The Age of Adaline, A Simple Favor and more.
Lively also made her directorial debut when she co-wrote and directed the music video for Taylor Swift’s I Bet You Think About Me. She is set to make her feature directorial debut soon, too.
Meanwhile, Lively has launched a line of non-alcoholic drink mixers called Betty Buzz and another line of alcoholic canned co*cktails called Betty Booze. Her new film, It Ends with Us, based on the mega-hit novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover, will be released in US cinemas on August 9.
2. Leighton Meester, 38
Leighton Meester played Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl, who went on to be one of the show’s most popular and critically acclaimed characters. Following Gossip Girl, she delved into music and released her debut album Heartstrings in 2014. She also stepped into Broadway, making her stage debut in an adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel Of Mice and Men.
Meester has starred in several films and TV shows since then, including Like Sunday, Like Rain, Single Parents and, most recently, How I Met Your Father.
The actress has also consistently dedicated herself to philanthropy. Inspired by her own struggles during her childhood, she got involved with Feeding America to relieve hunger in the United States. Meester is currently working on the TV show Good Cop/Bad Cop alongside Clancy Brown and Luke Cook.
3. Penn Badgley, 37
Penn Badgley played scholarship student Dan Humphrey in Gossip Girl. Soon after Gossip Girl ended, he started a band named Mother (later, Mothxr) and released its debut album, Centerfold.
Badgley also continued acting and received much acclaim, but his next big break came with Netflix’s You, where he plays Joe Goldberg. During this time, the actor got married to Domino Kirke and welcomed their son in 2020. He’s also stepfather to Kirke’s son.
He has a podcast called Podcrushed with Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari. Among other guests, Gossip Girl alum Meester has appeared on his podcast.
He’s currently one of the hottest celebrities in Hollywood, having most recently appeared in the music video for Ariana Grande’s The Boy is Mine.
4. Chace Crawford, 38
Chace Crawford plays “golden boy” Nate Archibald in Gossip Girl. Following the show, he starred in some independent and mainstream films before being cast as Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep in The Boys. At the same time, he was also doing thriller films like Charlie Says, Inheritance and Nighthawks.
Interestingly, Crawford also starred as an English voice actor for Mamoru Hosoda’s anime Belle and voiced The Deep in The Boys Presents: Diabolical. His most recent film, Reunion, starring Nina Dobrev, releases on June 28 in the US, and season four of The Boys is streaming now on Prime Video.
In other news, he recently revealed on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast that he inevitably kindled a romance with a Gossip Girl cast mate – but didn’t reveal who it was.
5. Ed Westwick, 36
Ed Westwick played bad boy Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl. After the show ended, the British actor starred in Romeo & Juliet and went on to do many other films. He also drew attention for playing Vincent Swan in White Gold in 2017 – the same year that he was embroiled in controversy around sexual misconduct allegations against him.
He’s also the vocalist of the band For You. He got engaged to Bollywood actress Amy Jackson earlier this year, after which his latest film, DarkGame, was released.
