Gossip Girl: Where are the cast now?

If you got into Gossip Girl,  and I mean really got into it, it definitely defined a portion of your life. You either wanted to be the glowing, wistful Serena van der Woodsen with that god-awful giggle or the baddest bitch in New York City, Blair Waldorf.

Although the show has not aged well since it started in 2007 (Chuck Bass literally sexually assaulted Serena and Jenny in the pilot episode) and has its fair share of completely absurd story lines – still confused about that threesome with Hillary Duff – its popularity sky rocketed when it hit Netflix and gave us a glimpse into the life of trust funds, privilege and penthouses in New York that we could never have.

As for the cast of Gossip Girl, where are they now? It has been eight years since the final episode aired yet, if you have clicked on this article, you are probably going to rewatch it again. What have our favourite Upper East-siders been up to since the show ended?

Blair Waldorf played by Leighton Meester

Blair Waldorf terrorised the Upper-East Side throughout the series with her constant wars and sabotages, but won our hearts by always being fiercely loyal to the ones she loved (exclusively Serena, Nate, Chuck and sometimes Dan). Leighton Meester was nominated for and won many awards for her portrayal of Blair, including the Teen Choice Awards “Choice TV Actress” award two years running.

In a huge juxtaposition to her character in the show, Leighton pursued country music alongside filming Gossip Girl and released several singles. Since Gossip Girl ended, Leighton has appeared on Broadway as Curley’s wife in the stage production of Of Mice and Men. She also married American actor Adam Brody in 2014, and became a mum three years ago to daughter Arlo.

Now, she plays Angie D’amato in the ABC Network TV Show Single Parents.

Serena van der Woodsen played by Blake Lively 

Blake Lively played the charming, infallible, waltzes-through-life-despite-low-key-murdering-someone Serena van der Woodsen.  Since the show ended, Blake Lively has flipped the switch and come out of TV to star in her own movies. Aside from marrying Ryan Reynolds and having children, she has starred in a range of thrillers and romance movies.

Blake played surfer-girl Nancy in The Shallows (2016) who battles off a great white shark during a surf-trip gone wrong, and recently co-starred with Anna Kendrick in the unsettling crime thriller A Simple Favor in 2018.

This year she traded her statement blonde locks for short brunette hair and a British accent in action film The Rhythm Section where she plays a woman seeking revenge on those who killed her family in an orchestrated plane crash. Since coronavirus hit, she and Ryan have donated $1 million between Feeding America and Food Banks Canada, according to her Instagram.

Dan Humphrey played by Penn Badgley

If you are the kind of person who has found themselves reading this article, chances are you are into Netflix and what Dan Humphrey has been up to since the end of Gossip Girl needs no explanation. Penn Badgley starred as the infamous Joe Goldberg in the psychopathic thriller series You on Netflix, which is set for a third season in 2021. He’s gone from one stalker role to another, essentially, after being revealed as Gossip Girl in the final episode.

Outside of acting, he is married to singer Domino Kirke and is active on Instagram promoting women and immigrants’ rights on the border of Mexico and the US. At the end of 2019 he spent time meeting people in detention houses on the Mexican border and is working to help immigrant women and children find safety.

Nate Archibald played by Chace Crawford

Chace Crawford played the dashing Nate Archibald who had his fair share of crazy storylines, usually involving older women, but still ended up with a job at the New York Spectator and an upcoming mayoral run. According to Chace’s IMBD his trade mark is his “pretty boy look”, shock.

Chace has been involved in a variety of TV and film since the show ended, including Glee as Biff McIntosh in 2014. Now, Chace has adopted the role of The Deep in the superhero Amazon Prime series The Boys. Despite different roles he still gets the odd “I love you Nate” comment on instagram.

Chuck Bass played by Ed Westwick

You only need to head over to Instagram to find out where Ed Westwick, who played the tortured bad-boy-turned-good Chuck Bass, is now. Apart from modelling for himself on his gorgeous Instagram and traveling the world, he played the shifty window salesman Vincent Swan on the BBC Two sitcom White Gold from 2017 to 2019, and starred in the new action film Enemy Lines which came out during lockdown.

Ed is well and truly keeping the Gossip Girl brand alive as he has recently pictured himself in an “XOXO” face mask on his insta while holding a bunch of peonies (Blair’s favourite flower, duh). This is part of his collection which is helping to raise money for the charity Kick It Out, which combats racism in football.

Jenny Humphrey played by Taylor Momsen

Jenny Humphrey left the show in season four after her character finally crippled under the weight of her black eyeliner and the pressures of the Upper East Side. While Jenny left New York for fashion school the actress who played her, Taylor Momsen, left the show to focus on her career as a musician.

Taylor is the lead singer of rock band The Pretty Reckless, which has been pumping out music since 2010. One of their most famous songs, Make Me Wanna Die, played in the background of Gossip Girl in episode nine of season four as Chuck and Blair are revealed behind the curtain at the Saints and Sinners party.

The band has released three studio albums, and recently put out a new single called Death by Rock and Roll in May 2020. Like most bands, The Pretty Reckless has been reaching out to fans by holding live stream events during quarantine.

Eric van der Woodsen played by Connor Paolo

Connor played Eric or “E” van der Woodsen, the brother of Serena, who also left the show for good in season four. Connor’s character was used in many cases to expose the toxic traits of the characters around him, like Georgina revealing he was gay for the first time at the dinner table with Lily and Serena.

Connor left the show to pursue a different role as Declan Porter in the TV series Revenge, which ran from 2011-2015. Since then, he has been consistently involved in TV and most recently appeared in the American hospital drama The Resident for an episode.

His Instagram is mysterious, but aesthetically pleasing, and shows that he has been involved and using his voice in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Vanessa Abrams played by Jessica Szohr 

Much like Taylor Momsen, Jessica Szohr also left Gossip Girl at the end of season four when her character moved to Spain. Since then the actress has acquired an impressive amount of roles TV shows and film, according to her IMBD, including a lead role in the science-fiction comedy series The Orville created by Seth Macfarlane. Leighton Meester even made an appearance in the Orville alongside her old co-star in an episode in 2019.

Where is she now? Before the pandemic Jessica had been traveling around with her girl group, including Nina Dobrev and Zoey Deutch. More recently, according to her Instagram, she attended the Black Lives Matter march in L.A.

Despite leaving gossip girl nine years ago, she is still plagued with GG fans in her comments including “damn you and Nate broke up?” and “Vanessa Abrams always”.

Georgina Sparks played by Michelle Trachtenberg 

Georgina Sparks jumped in and out of the series bringing chaos wherever she went, from raging party-girl to the whole Dan Humphrey love-child debacle. You always knew that shit was about to hit the fan when Georgina turned up.

After the show, Michelle Trachtenberg stayed in television, and was last credited as the voice of Judy Reily in animated TV series Human Kind Of. Michelle is also very active on Twitter, and is busy suggesting ways of entertaining yourself during the pandemic, standing up to bullying or keeping up to date with politics.

From her tweets, she seems a lot more level-headed than her Gossip Girl character ever was.

Lily van der Woodsen played by Kelly Rutherford

Kelly Rutherford played Lily van der Woodsen/Bass/Humphrey and, amidst her complicated relationships, was a mother to Serena, Eric and her adoptive son Chuck. Since Kelly’s role on Gossip Girl, she has been involved in all our favourite shows in some way. She played Claire Hotchkiss in the spin off Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists, and appeared in an episode of Jane the Virgin. Kelly also guest starred alongside Elizabeth Gillies in Dynasty, which is also now on Netflix.

The actress is also currently in a relationship with Luxury Retail Brand Consultant Tony Brand who, according to his Linkedin, has worked with brands such as Gucci, Barneys, Tom Ford and Ralph Lauren (which all sounds very Gossip Girl).

Kelly may be 51, but her Instagram feed will put you to absolute shame. It consists of selfies, beautiful interior design and clothes interspersed with motivational quotes. This insta-queen knows how to stick to a theme, and the vibes are immaculate.

Rufus Humphrey played by Matthew Settle

Mathew Settle played the hopeless romantic musician Rufus Humphrey, and loyal waffle-making father to Dan and Jenny. The role got him nominated for a Teen Choice Award in 2009 for Choice TV Parental Unit.

Since Gossip Girl finished, Matthew has appeared sparsely in some TV and film including the 2014 horror film Ouija.Where is he now? That’s a secret he’ll never tell… Matthew has disappeared from social media, and not made any TV appearances since 2017.

Related Gossip Girl stories recommended by this writer:

•What was the straight-up dumbest thing that ever happened on Gossip Girl?

• Quiz: Which girl from Gossip Girl are you actually?

• Ranked: These are the net worths of the Gossip Girl families