It’s been nearly 15 years since Kristen Bell‘s all-knowing Gossip Girl first brought us into the worlds of Lonely Boy, Queen B and Little J. We became infatuated with (and sometimes grossly disturbed by) their lives of luxury and lies.
Now, HBO Max is starting Gossip Girl‘s next chapter with the reboot’s premiere on Thursday, July 8. The all-new cast includes Jordan Alexander, Eli Brown, Thomas Doherty, Tavi Gevinson, Emily Alyn Lind, Evan Mock, Zion Moreno, Whitney Peak and Savannah Lee Smith, with Bell lending her voice again.
The first trailer already gave fans a peek at what’s in store. Hint: It includes as much sexual tension and drama as always. “She is a stranger who has found herself in your friend group,” warned one character, “with your boyfriend.” And yes, the steps of the Met are still the preppy teens’ go-to spot.
As HBO Max prepares to welcome us back into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite, it’s time to check in on the O.G. cast. Where are Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, Taylor Momsen and the rest of the legendary Upper East Siders today?
For besties Serena and Blair, the past decade marked a new journey for the actresses in their personal lives. Just two months before Gossip Girl‘s finale, Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds tied the knot. Two years later, Leighton Meester married our O.C. crush (that would be Adam Brody). Now, both of The CW stars are moms!
Here’s what the actors behind Dan, Nate, Chuck, Jenny, Vanessa and even some of the show’s buzziest guest stars are up to now.
The CW; Corbis via Getty ImagesThe actress, who portrayed It Girl Serena van der Woodsen, has been keeping very busy since the end of Gossip Girl. A few months prior to the 2012 finale, Lively tied the knot with actor Ryan Reynolds and they’re now the proud parents to three daughters: James, 6, Inez, 4, and Betty, who is about 22 months old. In recent years, the 33-year-old has starred in hit movies The Age of Adaline, The Shallows, A Simple Favor and The Rhythm Section.
The CW; Mike Pont/Getty Images for A+ELonely Boy no more! Badgley, who portrayed Dan Humphrey (who, spoiler alert, was ultimately revealed to be Gossip Girl) on the CW show, has been making headlines for his turn as stalker Joe Goldberg on the hit Netflix series You.
On a more personal note, Badgley, 34, is also a married man. The actor tied the knot with Domino Kirke, the sister of Girls actress Jemima Kirke, in Feb. 2017. They welcomed their first baby together in August 2020. Of course, fans of GG remember Badgley and Lively dated during the show’s early run before splitting in 2010.
The actress, who portrayed Blair Waldorf, has been making a splash in the comedy world in recent years, starring in ABC’s Single Parents.
Meester married actor Adam Brody (aka The O.C.‘s Seth Cohen) and they’re parents of a daughter named Arlo, born in 2015, and a son, born in 2020.
In May 2019, when asked about possibly returning for a GG reboot, Meester told E! News, “No one’s every talked to me about it except for in interviews and I always say the same: I never say never, so I don’t know. No one’s sent me that information, it’s coming from you.”
For six seasons, viewers swooned over Crawford’s character Nate Archibald. Since the 2012 finale, Crawford has starred in ABC’s Blood & Oil, as well as films Eloise and All About Nina. Crawford, 35, now stars in the Amazon original series The Boys.
Westwick rose to fame as Chuck Bass and after hanging up his character’s signature scarf, the 34-year-old went on to appear in 2013’s Romeo & Juliet and star in 2015’s shortlived ABC drama Wicked City. He also starred in the British TV series White Gold.
In the fall of 2017, the Los Angeles Police Department started an investigation into sexual assault allegations made by several women against Westwick, which he denied. In July 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney declined to prosecute Westwick the British actor after determining there wasn’t enough evidence to file charges in two instances and a third accuser failed to cooperate with investigators.
Little J has come a long way since her days trying to snag a place in Blair’s crew. Momsen was just 14 when she starred as Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, though she left the show in 2010 as music was her ultimate passion from an early age. She went on to form and front her band The Pretty Reckless when she was 17. They have released four studio albums.
“The thing that made me the happiest is when I finally quit,” the now-27-year-old explained of her decision to exit the hit series in a recent interview with Metro.co.uk. “And I could focus on my true passion, and the thing I really always wanted to do with my life.”
Szohr burst onto the Hollywood scene with her breakout role as Vanessa Abrams in GG. Since that time, the actress has appeared in films The Internship, Ted 2 and Two Night Stand. She’s also been on TV shows Kingdom, Shameless and The Orville.
The 36-year-old gave birth to daughter Bowie Ella with hockey pro boyfriend Brad Richardson in January 2021.
Will Bell return as the voice of Gossip Girl in the reboot? That’s one secret we can tell, as it was confirmed in November 2019 that she would be returning to provide the titular blogger’s snarky narration in HBO Max’s upcoming series.
Since the finale in 2012, the Veronica Mars star tied the knot with longtime love Dax Shepard, with whom she shares two daughters Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6. In the acting world, the 40-year-old starred in Hulu’s Veronica Mars revival and NBC’s The Good Place. Bell also fronted the Bad Moms films and voices Anna in Disney’s Frozen and Frozen 2.
Remember when Bucky Barnes was on was on Gossip Girl? That’s right, the actor appeared in 11 episodes of the CW series as bad boy Carter Baizen from 2007 to 2010 and dated Leighton Meester during that time.
Since his time on the show, Stan, 38, has become a household name thanks to his role as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Captain America and Avengers films. He recently starred on Disney+’s The Falcon and Winter Soldier opposite Anthony Mackie.
It’s hard to believe it’s been a decade since Duff made a guest appearance on GG. In her six-episode arc, Duff appeared as Hollywood star Olivia Burke, who sparked a romance with Dan while at NYU and infamously engaged in a threesome with the not-so-Lonely Boy and his BFF Vanessa.
Since then, Duff starred in her own hit TV series, Younger. She was about to step back into Lizzie McGuire’s platform sandals for a Disney+ revival, but it didn’t work out due to differing creative visions.
In 2019, the “So Yesterday” singer married musician Matthew Koma, and they share daughters Banks, 2, and Mae, whom the couple welcomed in March 2021.
She’s also mom to 9-year-old son Luca from her relationship with Mike Comrie.
