There is certainly no doubt that Gossip Girl is one of the most iconic teen drama shows in history and after the show wrapped up in 2012 plenty of fans were sad to say goodbye to their favorite Upper East Side characters. The cast of the show, however, wasn't going to go away and actors such as Blake Lively and Pen Badgley were pretty much only at the beginning of their careers.
This list explores just what the cast members of Gossip Girl have been up to since the series finale, and while some of them have remained in the spotlight — others have decided to take things a bit slower.
10 Blake Lively Starred In Blockbusters And Married Ryan Reynolds
Kicking in the list off is Blake Lively a.k.a. Serena van der Woodsen. After Gossip Girl wrapped up in 2012, Blake went on to star in quite a few Hollywood blockbusters — The Age of Adaline and A Simple Favor only being some of them.
Besides pursuing a very successful career in Hollywood, Blake also married Ryan Reynolds in 2012 and together the two have three adorable daughters — James, Inez, and Betty. After Gossip Girl, Blake remained active in the industry, but she also dedicated plenty of time to her family and it's safe to say that Blake and Ryan have become the epitome of relationship goals.
9 Leighton Meester Released Music And Married Adam Brody
Next on the list is Leighton Meester who played the iconic role of Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl. While Leighton has explored some other roles after Gossip Girl (most notably in the ABC sitcom Single Parents), she also decided to give her music career a shot.
In 2014 she released the album Heartstrings and she had her Broadway debut in Of Mice and Men. 2014 was a big year for Leighton Meester’s career but also a very important one for her private life as she tied the knot with fellow Hollywood star Adam Brody.
8 Penn Badgley Starred In The Netflix Hit Show You
Pen Badgley is certainly the only star on this list to actually managed to star in two very popular drama shows. Yes, we’re talking about Netflix's thriller series You in which Pen plays the role of Joe Goldberg who is certainly Pen's most notable role thus far — besides the role of Dan Humphrey.
After Gossip Girl, Penn actually joined the band MOTHXR which released its debut album Centerfold in 2016. As far as Pen Badgley's private life goes, in 2017 he married singer Domino Kirke.
7 Ed Westwick Continued Acting But Avoided The Spotlight
Another famous Gossip Girl actor is Ed Westwick who played the iconic role of Chuck Bass on the teen drama. After the show wrapped up in 2012, Ed proceeded to star in movies such as Romeo & Juliet, Bone in the Throat, Freaks of Nature, and Billionaire Ransom.
Unlike the rest of the lead cast from Gossip Girl, Ed Westwick isn't in the spotlight too much so little is known about the actor's private life.
6 Chace Crawford Starred In Other Shows And Worked On His Muscles
Next on the list is heartthrob Chace Crawford who played Nate Archibald on the teen drama. After the show wrapped up, Chace starred in a couple of movies but his more notable roles are those in the ABC drama series Blood & Oil, as well as the Amazon Prime Video original series The Boys.
Just like Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford also tends to keep his personal life private as he rarely shares details about it with the public.
5 Taylor Momsen Made The Switch To A Musician With The Band The Pretty Reckless
Taylor Momsen — who played the role of Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl — left the show is a regular cast member after its fourth season in 2011. While fans didn’t get to see much of Jenny since then, she did briefly appear in Gossip Girl's final episode. After the show, Taylor pursued a career in music as a member of the rock band The Pretty Reckless.
In 2014 The Pretty Reckless released their second album Going to Hell and in 2016 they released her third one Who You Selling For. Currently, the band is still active and the song "Death by Rock and Roll" announced their forthcoming fourth studio album.
4 Jessica Szohr Continued Acting And Joined The Cast Of The Orville
Moving on to Jessica Szohr — the actress who played Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl. Since 2012, Jessica had quite a few notable roles in movies such as The Internship, Ted 2, as well as television shows like Kingdom, Twin Peaks, and Shameless.
Currently, Jessica is a cast member of the science fiction series The Orville. While Jessica also likes to keep her life private, it is known that the actress is friends with fellow stars Taylor Swift and Nina Dobrev.
3 Connor Paolo Joined The Drama Show Revenge
Connor Paolo, who played the role of Eric van der Woodsen, also made it onto the list. After Gossip Girl wrapped up, Connor joined the main cast of ABC's drama show Revenge in which he played the role of Declan Porter.
While Connor certainly continued acting in movies as well as television shows — it's definitely safe to say that Gossip Girl remains his most famous project. Just like a few of his former co-stars, Connor also keeps his life very private.
2 Michelle Trachtenberg Said Yes To A Bunch Of Guest Appearances And Supporting Roles
Michelle Trachtenberg — who played the role of Georgina Sparks on Gossip Girl — continued acting after the show wrapped up. Some of Michelle's more well-known roles were in the shows Love Bites and Weeds, as well as in the movie The Scribbler.
While Michelle certainly worked a lot after Gossip Girl, it’s quickly noticeable that most of her roles were either guest appearances in shows or supporting roles in movies meaning that the famous teen drama remains one of her biggest projects.
1 And Lastly, Kelly Rutherford And Matthew Settle Continued Acting, But Nothing Compared To Their Roles On Gossip Girl
Wrapping the list up are Kelly Rutherford who played Lily van der Woodsen and Matthew Settle who played Rufus Humphrey on Gossip Girl.
Ever since the show wrapped up, Kelly starred in multiple Lifetime movies, the ABC show Quantico, as well as in the reboot series Dynasty. As far as Matthew goes, he was a guest star on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders and he played in a couple of movies, but it seems as if he focused more on his private life.