6 Mar 2018
Ah, Gossip Girl. Not to make you feel ancient, but it's been ten years since the pilot aired in September 2007. I distinctly remember the frenzy of excitement over the grown-up, glamorous TV show that promised to inject a dose of rich-kid decadence into every schoolgirl's life; upon the news of it airing in Europe, I hosted a Gossip Girl premiere party at my house after school, where my friends and I sat glued to the telly for the full hour. Afterwards, we excitedly obsessed over whether we were a Blair or a Serena, categorising ourselves over a penchant for headbands or a mysterious, bad girl persona. The influence of the infamous Gossip Girl lurking behind a screen was so real, that pretty much every school had their own wannabee rumour queen, operating through Bebo or MSN, trying and failing to get a decent scoop.
After five long years and six seasons, Gossip Girl sadly came to an end, but the hype always stayed real. In honour of the show's 10th birthday, here's a total run through of where every single one of your favourite Upper East Siders have been up to over the past decade. xoxo.
Blake Lively - Serena van der Woodsen
After flouncing onto our screens as the troubled rich girl with a heart of gold, Blake Lively made a pretty damn good name for herself. After starring in every teen girl's ultimate favourite film of all time (bar Mean Girls), The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Blake went on to film Age of Adaline and Green Lantern, where she met now-husband Ryan Reynolds (#goals) and made two very cute babies. We're glad it all worked out for S.
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Leighton Meester - Blair Waldorf
Team B for the win! After she hung up her Hermés headband for good, Leighton starred in Entourage, horror flick The Roomate, and that Cobra Starship music video, plus she's also had a bit of a singing career (see Leighton's complete transformation over the years here). Secrets from on-set were recently revealed, saying that Leighton and Serena weren't really as friendly as their BFF characters were, but everything was still civil.
Ed Westwick - Chuck Bass
Everyone's favourite bad boy continued his sexy streak in Californication (for just one episode, but shhh) and Chalet Girl, where he continued to be a total and utter heartthrob. He's been doing a few mini-series in 2017 - catch him in Ordeal By Innocence, White Gold, and Snatch.
Chace Crawford - Nate Archibald
Fun fact: Nate and Chuck were best friends IRL, and even shared a flat before and during their time on GG. Chace has been a little bit quiet since the show ended, doing stints on Glee and What To Expect When You're Expecting, but he's still ridiculously hot, so it doesn't matter.
Penn Badgley - Dan Humphrey
Spoiler alert: Gossip Girl is Dan, and Dan is Gossip Girl. I'm still confused. Anyway, Penn then went on to star in some of the best chick flicks (hate that term) of the 2000s, including John Tucker Must Die and Easy A, and was super lovable in both.
Taylor Momsen - Jenny Humphrey
Just like how little Jenny Humphrey went a bit bad in the series, Taylor's had her fair share of scandal. After allegedly being kicked off the show, she now she fronts her band, The Pretty Reckless, and counts music as her main passion. Also, did anyone else not realise that she was the little girl in The Grinch?
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Matthew Settle - Rufus Humphrey
Aw, Rufus was such a fab dad. Him and Lily belonged together. Most of Matthew's big gigs came pre-GG (think Brothers and Sisters and ER), but catch him in his latest flick, Valentine, in which he played Bono.
Kelly Rutherford - Lily van der Woodsen
Lily was total mum goals - who didn't want to be a rich, sophisticated, Upper East Side matriarch with a whole lot of baggage? Like her GG bae, Kelly started out in major series like Melrose Place, and then went on to star in Being Mary Jane.
Connor Paolo - Eric van der Woodsen
After acting as Serena's lost puppy of a brother, Connor starred in the equally as scandalous hit series Revenge, where he pretty much played the exact same character.
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Jessica Szohr - Vanessa Abrams
Everyone really felt for Vanessa - she pined for Dan whilst he was obsessed with S, then finally nabbed him only to have him cheat on her with some poet called Mystery Craze. Post-GG, she's starred in The Internship and the latest revival of Twin Peaks.
Zuzanna Szadkowski - Dorota
Did you think I'd forget about Dorota? As in, Blair's hilarious maid who was actually a Polish countess who fled a loveless marriage? The last time I saw Zuzanna, she was on Girls - a pretty good upgrade from the Upper East to Bushwick, if you ask me.
