Blake Lively: the beginnings of her success

She is the daughter of actors Elaine Lively and Ernest Wilson Brown and her destiny was always to be a star. At just 10 years old, she made her film debut, led by the hand to the set by her father. However, as the years have gone by, she has shown that she has plenty of talent in her own right to be a Hollywood star. She has demonstrated this in an incredible TV series and no less than 20 films where we have watched her evolve.

'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' - a comedy-drama book adaptation. In this film we can see a very young Blake Lively who, at the age of 18, played her first leading role in a feature film. She shared the screen with America Ferrara, Alexis Bledel and Amber Tamblyn. She created a lasting friendship with the girls and still maintains a strong bond with them.

'Accepted' is another teen comedy. Blake Livey started out her career pretty comfortable in this genre. At 19, she was making her mark in the industry and starting to get recognised for her work. And, perhaps, her highly-castable 'girl-next-door' look.

Like many stars in Hollywood, the actress has also played a role in her share of teenage horror flicks. That’s right, the typical story of friends, camping and, in this particular film, the game 'Simon Says' taken to the some pretty extreme levels.

At the age of 20 she got her first romantic role in a surprising drama with Max Minghella. The chemistry between the two of them was out spectacular. Blake Lively was beginning to be taken seriously in Hollywood.

'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' was such a success that they released a sequel three years later with the same plead characters and the same actors playing them. It was a beautiful reunion in which Blake Lively was seen much more comfortable in her own skin than in her debut.

In this romantic comedy, it seemed as if Lively all of a sudden grew up and moved from ‘girl-next-door’ to ‘red-dress-sexy’ in the blink of an eye. She didn’t change her hairstyle too much though, keeping with a blonde tousled look.

‘The Private Lives of Pippa Lee'. Blake Lively faced a double challenge in this film: sharing a cast with people like Alan Arkin, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves while at the same time playing the more challenging role of young Robin Wright. She passed both with flying colours.

Another good casting for the actress but, this time, with a completely new role than what she was used to: a former drug addict. Blake Lively was proving she had no qualms taking on challenges. She was 23 years old.

The best thing that came out of this DC flop was the fact that she met the man who, to this day, is her husband and father of her children: Ryan Reynolds. They are one of the most popular, followed couples in Hollywood. The film, however, was better off forgotten.

Unexpectedly, Blake Lively reprised her role as a drug addict, giving us a brilliant on-screen due alongside Chloe Grace Moretz. At the time, the actress was already a star and had already married Ryan Reynolds.

This film definitely showed the world the wildest version of Blake Lively. She portrayed a totally believable Ophelia who was in an open relationship with Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. The beauty of this film was the natural relationship between the three, which allowed Blake to feel comfortable exploring wider facets of the role. She came across really well in the film, despite it receiving mixed reviews from critics.

This film allowed Blake Lively to seduce two Hollywood heartthrobs at the same time: Michiel Huisman and Harrison Ford. How did she do it? By being immortal.

This was pretty much an acting exercise for Blake Lively which allowed her to completely take control of this film - well, almost - she did have to share her starring role with a shark. She not only showed off her body, but also surprised many with her style on a surfboard and, perhaps, her potential to be one of the new Marvel or DC super-heroines?

You could say, playing a blind character is one of the greatest challenges for an actor. But playing a blind character who has then regained her sight is even more complicated. On the verge of turning 30, Blake Lively was still taking on some pretty serious acting challenges.

And then came Woody Allen. This New York director knew how to bring out all that Old Hollywood glamour that Blake Lively already carried inside her. And it has to be said, she looked absolutely ravishing.

The best idea a director could ever have was to create this incredible pairing. In this case the director was Paul Feig, and he put together the wonderful Blake Lively with Anna Kendrick. In the role of the aggressive executive, the actress had more chemistry with her partner than she had ever had with anyone else on screen.

Here, Blake Lively took on a completely new style. She didn’t look like the actress we all knew, as a brunette with very short hair, but she still looked great.

Between 2007 and 2012, Blake Lively played the main character in the teen series, ‘Gossip Girl’ that took the world by storm. Always perfect, always elegant, always sensual, her character is already television history.