Nearly 15 years after its debut, Gossip Girl still holds a place in the hearts of fans around the world. Even though a reboot was released in 2021, most viewers agree that there’s nothing quite like the original show. Part of what made Gossip Girl so successful was the brilliant cast, partly led by Blake Lively as the charismatic it-girl Serena van der Woodsen. Although Lively has played many great roles since her time as Serena, including Emily Nelson in A Simple Favour and Nancy Adams in The Shallows, her work on Gossip Girl continues to win over new generations of viewers.
Blake Lively’s path to becoming Serena van der Woodsen wasn’t straightforward, as there was hesitation on both sides. Others also auditioned to play Serena, including a now ultra-famous actress, who was turned down after the audition. Keep reading to find out who auditioned for Serena and why the creators went with Blake Lively instead!
The Role Of Serena Van Der Woodsen
Gossip Girl fans know Serena van der Woodsen as the it-girl of the Upper-East Side. Famously played by Blake Lively, Serena is the girl that every other girl in Manhattan wants to be. For Gossip Girl’s six-season run, Serena inspired the fashion choices of millions of viewers, even if they did prefer her best friend Blair Waldorf.
There would have been no Gossip Girl without Serena, and it’s difficult to say what the show would have been like if another actress had portrayed her (even though playing her wasn’t always a positive experience for Blake Lively). But there were some other contenders for the role, some of them now huge stars in Hollywood.
The Famous Actress Who Auditioned
When the auditions for Gossip Girl were happening, a young actress from Kentucky came in to read for Serena. Jennifer Lawrence was unknown to Josh Schwartz, the show’s creator, at the time. Had he known that she was going to go on to become one of the most successful actresses in Hollywood just a few years later, he may have paid more attention to her.
As it turns out, Schwartz can’t even remember Lawrence’s audition. “We did not realise this at the time, but Jennifer Lawrence really wanted to play Serena and auditioned,” he revealed. “This story came to us secondhand, but we were told she definitely auditioned and was bummed to not get it.”
At the time of auditioning, Lawrence would have been around 15 years old.
Other Actresses Who Were Considered
Jennifer Lawrence wasn’t the only other actress who could have played Serena, even though her audition wasn’t successful. The CW network’s casting director, David Rapaport, revealed that their first choice was Rumer Willis.
The eldest daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Rumer didn’t get the part of Serena but she’s since had a successful career as an actress and singer, appearing in films such as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and in the TV series Empire.
At the time that Rumer Willis was pitched to play Serena, another actress was also pitched to play her BFF Blair Waldorf, who ended up being played by Leighton Meester. Ashley Olsen was the studio’s first choice to play Blair!
Blake Lively’s First Audition
According to Hello Giggles, Blake Lively’s first audition to play Serena went well, except for the fact that the first screen test she did came back with mixed results. Although she could play the role, her look made her seem more like a “sunny California” girl that audiences wouldn’t buy “as an Upper East Side debutante.”
To remedy the issue, the casting director did another screen test with Lively and made her look more sophisticated by straightening her hair. The strategy work and Lively successfully came across as a New Yorker. Interestingly enough, her hair appears with beach waves in the pilot episode of the show!
Why They Went With Blake Lively
The casting of Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen definitely helped to make Gossip Girl so successful. The show’s creators originally decided to go with Lively based on suggestions that fans of the book series had made. They went online and looked at message boards where fans, who had seen Lively in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in 2005, had her pinned as the perfect choice to play Serena.
Because of this helpful tip, the creators didn’t audition too many girls for the role of Serena. Schwartz explained that she just had “to be somebody that you believe would be sitting in the front row at Fashion Week eventually.” And Lively perfectly embodied that image.
Blake Lively Was Initially Hesitant
Although Lively was the perfect Serena, she wasn’t convinced herself that accepting the role was the right move for her. After they offered it to her, she initially turned it down so she could attend college.
The show’s creators compromised by letting Lively attend Columbia University one day a week, promising that filming would slow down after the first year’s hype was over. Lured in by the chance to complete her studies, Lively accepted the role. Unfortunately the arrangement didn’t end up working.
As she told Vanity Fair, “the show didn’t slow down. It just got more and more.”
