“You Know You Love Me…XOXO Gossip Girl…”

Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar.

The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, originally ran on The CW for six seasons from September 19, 2007 to December 17, 2012. (Wiki)

Narrated by the omniscient blogger “Gossip Girl”, voiced by Kristen Bell, the series revolves around the fictional lives of upper-class adolescents living in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. But before we start, meet the cast!

Blake Lively…aka Serena van der Woodsen

Leighton Meester…Blair Waldorf

Penn Badgley…Dan Humphrey

Chace Crawford…Nate Archibald

Ed Westwick…Chuck Bass

Kelly Rutherford…Lily van der Woodsen

Matthew Settle…Rufus Humphrey

Taylor Momsen…Jenny Humphrey

Jessica Szohr…Vanessa Abrams

Zuzanna Szadkowski…Dorota Kishlovsky

Connor Paolo…Eric van der Woodsen

• When Badgley was 12, he recorded a pop single. It was never released, but we’re sure dying to hear it!
• Off-screen, the worlds are linked: Leighton Meester is married to Adam Brody, who played Seth Cohen in real life. 3. The Empire Hotel that Chuck owned is an actual hotel. 4. After fans swarmed the hotel, the bar at The Empire started serving Gossip Girl-themed cocktails, including an “XOXO” cocktail with secret ingredients they’ll never tell.

• Blake Lively was fitted for Serena’s wedding dress the day after her actual wedding to Ryan Reynolds.
• Kristen Bell, the infamous voice of Gossip Girl over the show’s 6-season run, gushed that she wished she had gotten to play “some vicious part and actually come out as Gossip Girl” in the final season of the series.
• Ed Westwick, British, modelled Chuck Bass’s American accent on the character Carlton Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990).
• Producers initially didn’t want Ed Westwick for either role because they said he “looked more like a serial killer than a romantic lead.”
• You can’t sit on the steps of the Met.
• A fan once snuck onto the set at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and was mistaken for an extra.
• The writers and producers always knew that Chuck and Blair would end up together.
• Audrey Hepburn inspired Blair’s look.
• Blake Lively and Penn Badgley who played onscreen couple Serena and Dan dated from 2007 to 2010.

• Mischa Barton was offered the role of Georgina Sparks, but she turned it down.
• In the show, Chuck has a pet dog named Monkey. In the books, Chuck has an actual monkey as a pet.
• Matthew Settle and Kelly Rutherford, who plays Rufus and Lily, once dated in real life.
• A three-bedroom penthouse at the Milan Condominiums is listed for $6.8 million.
• In Season 2, Serena is shown to have a Myspace profile, where she posts photos of her trip to Buenos Aires. ( Her user name is ServdW.)
• The van der Woodsen’s lived in the Milan Condominiums on the Upper East Side. The apartment later sold for $6.8 million.

• The Empire – Chuck’s hotel – is a real hotel. The bar served the XOXO cocktail with a secret ingredient they’ll ‘never tell’.
• Penn Badgley didn’t know that Dan was Gossip Girl until right before they shot that scene.
• Penn Badgley was named after the tennis ball company Penn.

Do you know of any interesting anecdotes that weren’t included? Leave a comment below, the rumor mill never sleeps! XOXO