:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(741x264:743x266)/penn-badgley-ed-westwick-taylor-momsen-leighton-meester-chace-crawford-blake-lively-gossip-girl-launch-022725-1-4b6208aa50c64d0fb6b1625653e8ea49.jpg)
Scott Wintrow/Getty
New York City's Upper East Side continues to be synonymous with Gossip Girl years after the series went off the air, and the cast hasn't been forgotten either.
Created by Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz and based on a young adult novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar, Gossip Girl ran for six seasons from 2007 to 2012.
The show follows Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and her wealthy New York City clique — Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester); Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick); and Nate Archibald (Chace Crawford) — as an anonymous blogger using the pseudonym "Gossip Girl" publicizes their every salacious move on the internet.
Over a decade since Gossip Girl concluded, the cast members have remained in the spotlight as they've gone on to get married, have children and progress in their careers.
Sadly, the group is currently mourning one of their own. Michelle Trachtenberg was found dead in her New York City apartment at age 39 on Feb. 26. While a cause of death has yet to be determined, she had been facing "health issues."
"The world lost a deeply sensitive and good person in Michelle," Lively wrote on her Instagram Stories following the devastating news. "May her work and her huge heart be remembered by those who were lucky enough to experience her fire."
In an exclusive statement shared with PEOPLE, Westwick added, "It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Michelle but I remember a talented, sharp, funny and warm soul."
Fellow costar Crawford posted a tribute to Trachtenberg on Instagram, writing, "She was a force of nature and just so so unapologetically funny and magnetic.. remembering those years with a big smile. Just a terrible loss. Love you ❤️."
So where are the Gossip Girl stars now? Here's everything to know about what the cast has been up to since 2012.
Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/blake-lively-660-38-f4de70ed9292460dbd0d66e0fb78c136.jpg)
Blake Lively, who played the "it" girl Serena van der Woodsen on the series, shifted to the big screen after Gossip Girl ended in 2012.
Lively's film credits include Savages (2012), The Age of Adaline (2015), The Shallows (2016), A Simple Favor (2018) and The Rhythm Section (2020).
She has also been busy off-screen — Lively married actor and Green Lantern costar Ryan Reynolds in 2012. They are parents to four children.
Penn Badgley as Dan Humphrey
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/penn-badgeley-660-f74c2b44567748c8b8a1eb2730a8acc8.jpg)
After his aspiring writer character Dan Humphrey revealed he was the titular "Gossip Girl" on the series finale, Penn Badgley found critical success playing singer Jeff Buckley in the 2012 film Greetings from Tim Buckley.
Following a quiet period, Badgley emerged on the Netflix series You, which he also produces. He is also a musician — in 2015, Badgley released an album, Centerfold, with his band, Mothxr.
Badgley and Lively dated for three years both on- and off-screen until their split in 2010. In 2017, Badgley tied the knot with British singer-songwriter Domino Kirke in a small courthouse ceremony. They welcomed their first child together, son James, in August 2020.
Leighton Meester as Blair Waldorf
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/leighton-meester-660-16-bce2a8db54e0483b93ec3cf55a04022e.jpg)
Following Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester continued adding acting credits to her résumé. Meester appeared in the Robert Downey Jr.-led film The Judge and hit the Broadway stage as Curley's wife in Of Mice and Men in 2014.
While also focusing on her music career — rebounding from 2009's clubby Robin Thicke duet "Somebody to Love" with her 2014 album Heartstrings — Meester returned to the small screen on Making History, Single Parents and Hulu's How I Met Your Father. She was also featured in the 2022 Netflix original The Weekend Away.
In 2014, Meester married The O.C.'s Adam Brody, whom she also starred alongside in the 2014 indie film Life Partners. They have two children, daughter Arlo Day and a son whose name the couple hasn't revealed. The couple is set to costar in the upcoming season 2 of Netflix's Nobody Wants This.
Ed Westwick as Chuck Bass
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/ed-westwick-660-6-da3e237c473641cead9bf03b48159a48.jpg)
Ed Westwick initially kept a low profile after playing bad boy hotel heir Chuck Bass on Gossip Girl — but the British actor later returned to TV, starring on Wicked City, Snatch and the British sitcom White Gold. He also starred in 2021's Me You Madness and 2022's Wolves of War.
Westwick found love with model Amy Jackson and the couple got married in August 2024. They are currently expecting their first child together. Jackson is already mom to son Andreas, whom she shares with ex George Panayiotou.
Chace Crawford as Nate Archibald
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/chance-crawford-660-f8637a445fcd4f3ca53ddc88008ac3a1.jpg)
After Gossip Girl, Chace Crawford moved away from his role of Nate Archibald and embraced a variety of roles.
He starred on the short-lived ABC soap opera Blood and Oil in 2015 and then executive produced and starred in the 2016 baseball film Undrafted. Since 2019, he has been a series regular on the Prime Video superhero series The Boys.
In 2020, Crawford was named PEOPLE's Hottest Bachelor, an honor that he said at the time was "pretty surreal."
Taylor Momsen as Jenny Humphrey
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/taylor-momsen-660-2-21f9aa234ebe4e6f8ea6f1243dc23e6b.jpg)
Little J's punk phase transcended Gossip Girl. Since leaving as a season regular in 2010, former child star Taylor Momsen quit acting to focus on her rock band, The Pretty Reckless (though she returned to Gossip Girl as a guest star for the final episode).
The band has released five albums — the most recent being Other Worlds in 2022.
Jessica Szohr as Vanessa Abrams
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/jessica-szohr-660-5-da20a88a251843cb84cf560a080671c0.jpg)
Jessica Szohr, who played Dan's childhood friend and an aspiring filmmaker, has booked a string of roles since the series finale of Gossip Girl, including the films The Internship (2013) and Ted 2 (2015).
She's had even more TV success, starring on the 2014 Hallmark original Lucky in Love and the short-lived USA Network series Complications before joining Kingdom, Twin Peaks, Shameless and The Orville. Szohr also starred in the 2022 Discovery+ holiday film Designing Christmas.
Szohr married NHL player Brad Richardson, with whom she shares a daughter, Bowie Ella in August 2024.
Connor Paolo as Eric van der Woodsen
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/connor-paolo-660-27a1aa88295e4a42b628b490ca6d6989.jpg)
After portraying Serena's younger brother Eric, who was often the voice of reason, Connor Paolo had several roles in independent films. He also starred in TV shows like Revenge and Business Doing Pleasure.
Kelly Rutherford as Lily van der Woodsen
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(750x117:752x119)/kelly-rutherford-pfw-tout-012224-f229c4aaed654c288d79d8248396b67e.jpg)
Marc Piasecki/WireImage; CW Network/Kobal/Shutterstock
As mother to Serena and Eric, Lily played a part in plenty of drama with her children throughout the series.
Since the end of Gossip Girl, Kelly Rutherford has mostly appeared as a guest star on shows like Reckless, Being Mary Jane, Quantico and Gone and appearing in recurring roles on Dynasty and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. She has also been featured in TV films, including Night of the Wild (2015), Love, of Course (2018) and All My Husband's Wives (2020).
Rutherford has two children with her ex-husband Daniel Giersch. The former couple fought a six-year legal battle over the custody of the children, which ended in 2015.
Matthew Settle as Rufus Humphrey
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(329x0:331x2)/matthew-settle-660-77ee40525f5f42f78be428b120ba165d.jpg)
In addition to being a former rock star and father of Dan and Jenny, Matthew Settle's Rufus Humphrey dealt with his own personal drama with Lily throughout the six seasons of Gossip Girl.
Settle has had a few roles since the series wrapped, including in the 2014 horror film Ouija and a guest appearance on the TV show Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.
He has a daughter, Aven Angelica, with his former wife and model Naama Nativ, and a daughter named Nalu, born in 2015, with his current girlfriend Maria Alfonsin.
Michelle Trachtenberg as Georgina Sparks
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(752x242:754x244)/michelle-trachtenberg-gossip-girl-022725-1-991ff59460c946299fdce18da4d567ed.jpg)
Giovanni Rufino / The CW; Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty
Michelle Trachtenberg played Georgina Sparks — one of Gossip Girl's infamous villains.
After the series ended, she went on to appear in several TV series, including Sleepy Hollow, Guidance and the Gossip Girl reboot.
Trachtenberg died at age 39 on Feb. 26, 2025. Sources told PEOPLE that she was "really sick" and underwent a liver transplant shortly before her death.
Up until her death, the actress was in a relationship with talent agent Jay Cohen. They were first linked in October 2020.
Kristen Bell as the Voice of "Gossip Girl"
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(216x0:218x2)/kristen-bell-435-85-f1a1b00e927f4cd4b51660676400d153.jpg)
Kristen Bell took a backseat on Gossip Girl as its uncredited narrator, but she has certainly come a long way from being the inner voice of Dan Humphrey. Bell was the only principal cast member from the original series to reprise her role on HBO Max's Gossip Girl reboot.
Bell starred on Veronica Mars and House of Lies before landing the lead role on the NBC series The Good Place, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. She reprised her fan-favorite Veronica Mars role in a 2014 movie and a 2019 Hulu reboot. Bell also appeared in the Prime Video film The People We Hate at the Wedding and on the Netflix series The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window, both in 2022.
However, Bell is probably best known for providing the voice of Princess Anna in the blockbuster Disney films Frozen (2013) and Frozen II (2019).
In 2013, Bell married her When in Rome costar, Dax Shepard, at the Beverly Hills courthouse; they have two daughters, Lincoln and Delta.