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| Serena van der Woodsen | |
|---|---|
| Gossip Girl character | |
 Blake Lively as Serena van der Woodsen |
|
| First appearance | Pilot |
| Created by | Cecily von Ziegesar |
| Portrayed by | Blake Lively |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 17-18 (Book Series) 16 (TV Series) |
| Occupation | Book Series: Actress Model TV Series: Student Face of Waldorf |
| Family | Book Series: David van der Woodsen (father) Lillian van der Woodsen (mother) Erik van der Woodsen (older brother) TV Series: William van der Woodsen (father) Lillian van der Woodsen (mother) Eric van der Woodsen (younger brother) |
| Spouse(s) | Book Series: Nate Archibald (lovers) Chuck Bass (fling) Dontella Contessa (fling) Dan Humphrey (dated) Aaron Rose (dated) TV Series: Nate Archibald (one-night stand) Chuck Bass (forced kiss) Dan Humphrey (dating) |
| Address | 994 Fifth Avenue, Upper East Side of Manhattan (book series) The New York Palace Hotel in Midtown Manhattan (TV series) |
Serena Caroline van der Woodsen is the central character in the book series Gossip Girl. The book character is portrayed by Blake Lively, as Serena Celia, in the TV series.
Contents |
Plot (book series)
Serena van der Woodsen is another one of the main protagonists of Gossip Girl. Serena is described as being very beautiful, with long blond hair and navy blue eyes. She was the It girl of Constance Billard School for Girls and the talk of Manhattan. Being the It girl of the Upper East Side, she is constant fodder to the rumor mill. Her father runs the same Dutch shipping firm his great-great-grandfather created in the 1700's and her mother Lily van der Woodsen is a socialite. Her parents are on the boards of all major charities and art organizations in the city and live at luxurious 994 Fifth Avenue, a ritzy, white-gloved-doorman building directly across the street from the Met and Central Park, the van der Woodsens own half the top floor, and live in a fourteen room penthouse. Serena's older sibling Erik, whom she is fairly close to, is a student at Brown University.
Relationship with Blair Waldorf
Serena and Blair Waldorf were best friends since childhood, but Blair was always in Serena's shadow. Then, in the summer of tenth grade, Serena has sex with Blair's then-boyfriend Nate Archibald while Blair is in Scotland for her aunt's wedding. However, Blair doesn't find out until a year later. That fall, Serena goes to boarding school, making Blair the new it girl (which doesn't make Blair miss her at all). Then Serena comes back a year later for unknown reasons, again getting all the attention and making Blair jealous. Then, as Blair is about to have sex with Nate for the first time, Nate confesses he slept with Serena. Blair ends the relationship with him, and with Serena. Throughout the series, they have a constant on and off friendship, their arguments mainly stemming from Serena's indiscretions with Blair's boyfriend, Nate. At the end of the book, however, they make-up, and Nate leaves with Captain Chips to sail around the world.
Relationship with Nate Archibald
In the summer of tenth grade when Blair was in Scotland for her aunt's wedding, Blair's then boyfriend Nate Archibald called Serena while she was in Connecticut. Serena came there by train and greeted him. They then went to his dad's townhouse, and had sex for the first time. She left for boarding school afterwards, to the surprise of her friends in Manhattan. Upon returning, she has another affair with Nate behind Blair's back. Though this proved to be purely sexual, at the end of the book, she said through a letter that she has always loved him. Nate reciprocated the sentiment, saying that he loved her too, but he also loved Blair, so they couldn't be together. He left at the end of the series to go sailing with Captain Chips.
Plot (TV series)
Serena van der Woodsen was born to Lillian van der Woodsen, a heiress socialite and former groupie, and William van der Woodson, described as a billionaire by Rufus Humphrey and currently divorced. Like in the book series, she ruled the Constance Billard School for Girls while best friend Blair Waldorf was the less pretty sidekick of the gorgeous it girl, then she left for boarding school, making Blair the leader of the social scene. Serena and her family currently reside at The New York Palace Hotel in Midtown Manhattan while their Upper East Side townhouse is getting renovated. She has a younger, troubled sibling named Eric. Her parents went to Harvard University and Brown University.
Overview
Serena returns home to Manhattan from boarding school to see her younger sibling Eric since he attempted suicide, though she is the target of other rumors about her return. Blair and Serena’s heart-to-heart talk at the Palace is soon crushed when Nate tells Blair he and Serena had sex before she went off to boarding school. Serena goes out a date with Dan Humphrey after he tries to return her Sidekick she left at The Palace bar. The two end going on a date to Dan’s father’s concert, blowing off Blair’s Kiss on the Lips party. Their date is interrupted when Jenny text messages Dan from Kiss of the Lips. Serena and Dan go to the party and find Chuck all over Jenny, resulting in Dan punching him in the face, the two leave in disgust. The following Sunday, Serena asks Dan to the Sunday Brunch at the Bass’, where Chuck and Blair reveal to Dan that Serena slept with Nate and “lied about it”, causing a rift between Dan and Serena. At an Ivy Mixer, Blair tells the audience that Serena is a patient at the Ostroff Center (since Chuck snapped pictures of Serena entering the building to see Eric) and is a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. Serena joins Blair on stage and reluctantly agrees with her to spare her mother's embarrassment. Eric later shows Blair the cut marks on his arm from his attempted suicide, resulting in Blair showing Serena a letter she never sent to her, causing them to be friends again.
Differences between book Serena and TV Serena
- In the books, her sibling Erik is older and attends Brown University, in the TV series, he’s younger (around Jenny’s age) and was suicidal (spelled Eric in TV series).
- In the books, Serena came home from boarding school because she got kicked out for not returning for the beginning of the senior year; in the TV series, the television version of her sibling, Eric, attempts suicide, compelling Serena to return home.
- In the books, Serena’s parents are still married and her mother, Lilian, never spoke to Dan Humphrey’s father let alone date him; In the TV series, Serena’s mom dated Dan’s father, Rufus.
- In the books, when Serena returns, she still wants to party and have things return to normal (i.e. get drunk in the Tribeca Star Hotel bar and pass out in the Bass Suite with her friends; piss on her classmates doorsteps with Blair; have the before school smoke etc.); In the TV series, Serena returns not wanting that party-life and immediately stops.
- In the book series Serena's middle name is Caroline while TV Serena's is Celia.
- In the book series, after Serena returns, she still smokes and drinks/gets drunk; in the TV series, her mother pointed out since Serena return she has not drank or smoked due to her relationship with Dan Humphrey.
- In the book series, Serena and Dan didn't have sex; in TV series, they have had sex on multiple occasions.
Family
Book Series
- David van der Woodsen (father)
- Lillian van der Woodsen (mother)
- Erik van der Woodsen (older brother)
TV Series
- William van der Woodsen (father)
- Lillian van der Woodsen (mother)
- Eric van der Woodsen (younger brother)
- Cece (maternal grandmother)
- Carol (maternal aunt)
Flings and romantic relationships
Book Series
- Nate Archibald (lovers)
- Chuck Bass (fling)
- Dontella Contessa (fling)
- Dan Humphrey (dated)
- Aaron Rose (dated)
TV Series
- Nate Archibald (one night stand)
- Chuck Bass (forced kiss)
- Dan Humphrey (dating)
