More than a decade after the final episode of Gossip Girl aired in 2012, the cast members have taken dramatically different paths in their careers and personal lives. While some have become A-list Hollywood celebrities, others have completely left the entertainment industry, and one cast member met a tragic premature death.
From Upper East Side to Hollywood Stardom
The main cast of Gossip Girl has experienced varying levels of success since the teen drama series concluded its six-season run. Blake Lively, who portrayed the glamorous Serena van der Woodsen, has evolved into a major film actress and producer. She has starred in several successful movies including The Town, The Shallows, and A Simple Favor. In 2024, she both produced and starred in the box office hit It Ends With Us.
Lively has also ventured into directing, making her directional debut with Taylor Swift's music video I Bet You Think About Me in 2021. In her personal life, she married actor Ryan Reynolds in 2012, and the couple now has four children together.
Penn Badgley, who played Brooklyn outsider Dan Humphrey, has achieved global recognition through his starring role as Joe Goldberg in the hit Netflix series You. Beyond acting, Badgley is also a musician in the pop band MOTHOXR and is married to Domino Kirke with whom he shares one child.
Supporting Cast Members' Diverse Journeys
Leighton Meester, who portrayed the iconic Blair Waldorf, has maintained a steady acting career while also pursuing music. She has appeared in television shows like Single Parents and How I Met Your Father, and recently had a recurring role in her husband Adam Brody's Netflix series Nobody Wants This. Meester released her debut album Heartstrings in 2014 and shares two children with Brody.
Chace Crawford successfully shed his golden boy image from Gossip Girl by taking on the role of Kevin Moskowitz/The Deep in the critically acclaimed series The Boys. Meanwhile, Ed Westwick, who played the sophisticated Chuck Bass, has continued acting in both film and television, including the sitcom White Gold and thriller Deep Fear. Westwick married actress Amy Jackson in Italy in August 2024.
Several cast members left the show during its run. Taylor Momsen, who played Jenny Humphrey, departed after Season 4 to focus entirely on her music career as the lead singer of rock band The Pretty Reckless. Jessica Szohr (Vanessa Abrams) also left the main cast after Season 4, though she returned for the series finale, and has since continued acting in shows like The Orville and Shameless.
Tragic Loss and Career Changes
The Gossip Girl family suffered a devastating loss when Michelle Trachtenberg, who played the manipulative Georgina Sparks, passed away on February 26, 2025, at the age of 39. According to reports, she was found dead in her New York City apartment and had previously undergone a liver transplant. Trachtenberg had returned to play Georgina in the Gossip Girl reboot and had appeared in several other TV series including Guidance and Sleepy Hollow.
Other original cast members have maintained lower profiles. Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen) has continued acting with recurring roles in series like Quantico and the Dynasty reboot. Matthew Settle (Rufus Humphrey) has largely stepped away from the spotlight to focus on his family life.
The iconic voice of Gossip Girl herself, Kristen Bell, returned to narrate the 2021 reboot of the series. Beyond this role, Bell has established herself as an A-list actress known for projects like Frozen, The Good Place, and Nobody Wants This.
Despite rumors of off-screen tension between their characters, Blake Lively and Leighton Meester maintained a professional working relationship throughout the series. The diverse paths taken by the Gossip Girl cast members demonstrate how a shared starting point in a popular television series can lead to dramatically different futures in the entertainment industry and beyond.
