As one of the most popular actresses working today, Blake Lively has had an acclaimed career across film and television. While primarily known as Serena van der Woodsen in Gossip Girl, there was far more to the Los Angeles star than just that, as she’s excelled in action, comedy, drama, horror, and even fantasy movies. With a likable presence and ion for her roles, Lively has forged an impressive character, making her one of the most sought-after Hollywood stars.

From her breakout film role in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to more recent successes like A Simple Favor, Lively has pushed the boundaries of her range and given some exceptional performances. With Another Simple Favor arriving in 2025, there’s never been a better time to reflect on Lively’s career and impressive contribution to film and television. As a true star known for her incredible beauty and fantastic charisma, Blake Lively’s best movies and TV shows were both interesting and varied.

15 The Rhythm Section (2020)

Stephanie Patrick

Released in 2020, The Rhythm Section is an action-thriller based on Mark Burnell's novel. Blake Lively stars in the movie as Stephanie Patrick, a woman who became a drug-addicted sex worker in a London brothel three years after her family died in a plane crash. However, when she learns that the plane crash was the result of a terrorist attack, she finds a reason to live and sets out to seek revenge on the people responsible for taking her family away from her.

However, even the critics who hated the movie praised Lively's performance as a woman wanting revenge.

Jude Law co-stars as Iain Boyd, a former MI6 agent who has become Stephanie's mentor as she investigates the deaths, while Sterling K. Brown (This is Us) stars as Marc Serra, a former CISA officer who works as a private intelligence broker. The movie is a revenge thriller, but audiences were not thrilled as The Rhythm Section was a box office flop and received lackluster reviews. However, even the critics who hated the movie praised Lively's performance as a woman wanting revenge.

14 IF (2024)

Octopuss

In 2024, John Krasinski directed the Ryan Reynolds fantasy comedy IF. This movie stars Cailey Fleming as a 12-year-old girl who begins to see a fantasy creature that ends up as her imaginary friend (IF). She soon meets a man named Cal (Ryan Reynolds), who can see all these imaginary creatures, many of which are left alone and desolate when their kids grow up and forget about them (meaning no one can see them now). His job is to place them with new kids in need of a friend.

There were a lot of famous actors voicing these imaginary creatures, with Steve Carell as the main large purple monster known as Blue. Blake Lively ed her husband for the movie by voicing an anthropomorphic cat IF who wears a red octopus costume with red shoes, named Octopuss. The film was a box office disappointment and received mostly mixed reviews from critics, sitting at 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.

13 It Ends With Us (2024)

Lily Bloom

Blake Lively had a big chance to start a new franchise of her own when she was cast in the lead role of the Colleen Hoover adaptation It Ends with Us. In this film, she stars as Lily Bloom, a young woman whose mother lived in an abusive relationship with Lily's dad, and now that Lily is developing her own relationships, she sees that the pattern of abuse is repeating itself in her boyfriends. She dates the abusive Ryan Kincaid (Justin Baldoni) while also realizing her old friend Atlas (Brandon Sklenar) could have helped her escape the abuse.

Sadly, the movie was completely overshadowed by behind-the-scenes turmoil that saw Lively sue Baldoni for on-set harassment (he was also the film's director), so when people talk about It Ends with Us, it is about the lawsuits and not the movie itself. Despite this, it was a monster success, making $351 million on a $25 million budget. However, the critical reviews were mixed, with only 55% praising the movie on Rotten Tomatoes.

12 Another Simple Favor (2025)

Emily Nelson

In 2025, Blake Lively starred in the sequel to her 2018 domestic noir, A Simple Favor. Titled Another Simple Favor, Lively returns with Anna Kendrick as Emily Nelson and Stephanie Smothers. In this sequel, Stephanie has become a successful author since the events of the last movie, while Emily is planning on getting married to an Italian businessman. However, a murder takes place at the extravagant wedding in Italy, and her relationship with Stephanie proves to be as dark and demented as ever.

In its review of the film, Screen Rant wrote that "With Another Simple Favor, Feig has managed to make a fun, delightfully ridiculous film, though it lacks the stakes and suspense of the original." However, the review indicates that what worked in the first movie (the quips and insults and the great fashion) is all on display in the sequel. While it lacks the widespread praise of the first movie, its 72% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score indicates it is another good time and another good Blake Lively performance.

11 Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

Lady Deadpool

While her role in Deadpool & Wolverine was small, it was still memorable. This movie was the first Deadpool project under the Marvel Cinematic Universe banner, and it brought in Hugh Jackman as Wolverine in his first appearance in the role since his critically acclaimed turn in Logan. The movie saw Deadpool and Wolverine team up to battle mutants who want to destroy every Earth in the multiverse, including the one with all of Deadpool's friends from the first two movies.

One of the main groups that Wolverine and Deadpool have to fight is the Deadpool Army, which is a legion of Deadpool variants from across the multiverse (many of which were pulled straight from the pages of the comics). One of the Deadpool characters from the comics was Lady Deadpool, who Blake Lively played. She is one of the few Deadpool variants who had speaking lines, and she was easily one of the most memorable. At $1.33 billion, Deadpool & Wolverine was the biggest movie Lively ever appeared in.

10 Accepted (2006)

Monica Moreland

One of Blake Lively’s earliest roles came in the college comedy Accepted, where she played the kind-hearted love interest Monica Moreland. As Bartleby’s (Justin Long) high school crush who was dating the fraternity bro Hoyt (Travis Van Winkle), there was very little that set Monica apart from the average unattainable teen movie stunning bombshell beauty. However, Lively played that role with such genuine comion and had such a likable presence that it’s easy to see why she got her big break on Gossip Girl the very next year.

Accepted told the story of a high school slacker who, after being rejected by countless colleges, decided to set up his own institution instead. With plenty of laughs and a lot of heart, Accepted was a touching comedy about the bonds forged in college and the importance of being true to oneself. While Lively did not have a massive role in Accepted, she was an integral part of an impressive ensemble cast that also included a pre-Superbad Jonah Hill.

9 Savages (2012)

Ophelia "O" Sage

Oliver Stone’s Savages may not be the most polished action-thriller ever made, but with a strong cast that included Blake Lively, John Travolta, and Salma Hayek, it felt like a dark return to form for the acclaimed director. Lively played Ophelia Sage, a woman who was openly in romantic relationships with the weed growers Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), creating interesting relationship dynamics. After Ophelia was abducted by the Mexican cartel, Chon and Ben were forced into a showdown to save the woman they both loved.

Lively’s role in Savages was significant as she carried the movie through her voiceover narration, and the quest to save her from peril instigated the film's entire plot. As suspenseful as it was sexual, Savages lacked the cohesion of the very greatest action thrillers. Lively worked well as a needy damsel in distress, but when it came down to it, Savages was more style than substance, although it more than does the job for those looking for a flashy action flick.

8 Café Society (2016)

Veronica Hayes

Café Society was a minor entry in the latter part of Woody Allen’s career that offered some lightweight fun and his signature witty dialogue but was predictable and lacked the depth of Allen’s very best work. Lively was ed by a star-studded cast that included Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, and Kristen Stewart just a few short years before Hollywood began to shut the door on the semi-cancelled Allen. As Veronica Hayes, Lively was a 1930s secretary who met and married Eisenberg’s character, Bobby.

As a romantic comedy set in 1930s Hollywood, Café Society followed, like almost all Allen’s films do, a neurotic intellectual’s misadventures in love. Lively was a compelling love interest who illuminated grace and beauty every time she appeared on the screen and worked incredibly well in this type of role. Among an impressive ensemble cast, Lively stood out as the true star of the show, although her chemistry with Eisenberg felt slightly off, which stood in the way of this being among her very greatest parts.

7 The Age Of Adeline (2015)

Adeline Marie Bowman

Blake Lively gave a powerful and committed performance in The Age of Adeline, a story about a 29-year-old woman who, after an accident, stopped aging. The consequences of this supernatural turn of events raised deep psychological questions about mortality and the importance of ongoing human connection throughout a lifetime. With a strong ing performance from Harrison Ford, The Age of Adeline started with the birth of Adeline Bowman in 1908 and took viewers from then to the present day.

As Adeline sought to avoid government experimentation, she was forced to live a life on the run, leave the people she loved, and take on new identities with each ing generation. While this led to an extraordinary life, it was also a deeply lonely existence, as Adeline left her children and was forced to reckon with them growing older than she would ever be. Lively excelled in her role, but although The Age of Adeline was compelling, the potential of its unique storyline was never fully exploited.

6 The Private Lives Of Pippa Lee (2009)

Young Pippa

As a complex, multi-layered life story about a woman’s tumultuous past and difficult future, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee was a powerfully intense drama, heartwarming comedy, and sharp satire. Blake Lively played the young Pippa, while Robin Wright was the contemporary version of the character who moved to a suburban retirement community with her much older husband (Alan Arkin.) Through flashbacks, Pippa’s littered history was unveiled as her period of reflection brought her ever closer to a mental breakdown.

While Wright’s performance stood out in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Lively gave a convincing turn as audiences witnessed the adverse effects of her difficult life as a young adult. This included a Bohemian lifestyle as a dancer, drug taking, and dealing with her neurotic mother’s obsessive fixation on her looks. With a formidable cast and a strong script by writer and director Rebecca Miller, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee was an engrossing, satirical family drama.