Gossip Girl may have left our screens over a decade ago, but that doesn’t mean that we’ve moved on from the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite.
In fact, quite the opposite. And with GG returning to Netflix, the world is once again dreaming about eating frozen yogurt on the Met steps and trying to recreate Blair Waldorf’s iconic style moments.
Yes, Gossip Girl characters are trending once more – as are the actors who play them, with one story in particular around the casting of Serena van der Woodsen going viral this week.
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While we can’t imagine Gossip Girl without Blake Lively at the helm, it turns out there was another famous actress who was interested in playing the show’s IT girl – and she’s an Oscar winner.
The A-lister in question? Jennifer Lawrence.
Yes, really. Before J-Law had her big break in Winter’s Bone, she auditioned to play Serena van der Woodsen, but sadly was passed for the role.
“We did not realise this at the time, but Jennifer Lawrence really wanted to play Serena and auditioned,” Gossip Girl creator Josh Schwartz recalled to Vulture. “This story came to us secondhand, but we were told she definitely auditioned and was bummed to not get it.”
Schwartz later confirmed to Vanity Fair that they “didn’t see a lot of other girls for Serena. She has to be somebody that you believe would be sitting in the front row at Fashion Week eventually.”
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Jennifer Lawrence would make an amazing Serena van der Woodsen, but we can’t imagine the CW show without Blake Lively. And on closer inspection, there were multiple A-listers who also almost made the cut.
Blair Waldorf was originally pitched to be played by Ashley Olsen – yes, really, and Lily Collins very almost bagged the role of Jenny Humphrey. Mischa Barton was even offered the role of Georgina Sparks before Michelle Trachtenberg, but she is reported to have turned it down.
Jennifer Lawrence, Ashley Olsen, Lily Collins and Mischa Barton as the four female leads – Gossip Girl almost looked very different!