10 Best Blake Lively Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

Some know her as the "it" girl of Manhattan, others as the entrepreneurial wife of Hollywood's smarmiest Canadian or the best friend of everyone's favorite pop singer. Some may even know her more recently from the drama surrounding "It Ends With Us" co-starring director Justin Baldoni. Wherever you were first introduced to Blake Lively, one thing has been certain ever since her career first started: She was born to be a Hollywood A-lister, one way or another. 

However, despite Lively's name frequently appearing in headlines over the past few months, some pop culture enthusiasts may have never watched one of her movies or TV shows. Despite being a bonafide box office draw with even her most critically-panned projects, Lively has gained more of a reputation from her flashy outfits at the Met Gala than from her work as an actress. Although she has yet to garner any acclaim at prestigious award shows like the Emmys, Oscars, or BAFTAs, there have been more than enough films and shows to establish her as a tour de force of both comedy and drama.

From her earliest cinematic appearances to her more recent endeavors in film and television, these Blake Lively projects are must-watches for anyone who wants to know more about the actress' screen history. Given how her name has been completely dragged through the mud over the past year, it's worth remembering that behind all the celebrity beef and smear campaigns is a lovable movie star. 

Here are the best Blake Lively movies and TV shows you should seek out right away.

Blake Lively may not be front-and-center in "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee," despite playing a younger version of the titular character, played in the present day by Robin Wright. Written and directed by novelist Rebecca Miller, the film centers on a middle-aged woman with a troubled past who accompanies her husband (Alan Arkin) to a retirement community, where they grow apart as she connects with a young bad boy (Keanu Reeves). Lively appears throughout in various flashbacks depicting the older Pippa Lee's tragic life story. 

Despite mixed reviews, the one consistently positive part of "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" is its ensemble cast, with Lively (who at this point was two seasons into starring in "Gossip Girl") drawing praise for her movie star potential. The film otherwise received criticism for its tone, pacing, and inconsistency, but most reviewers could agree that Lively was showing great promise as a future movie star, despite even mixed reactions about the story itself.

As for the rest of the cast, more reviewers praised Arkin for being the real scene-stealer of the movie, and the filmmaker shared her favorite Keanu Reeves story in praise of his role in the film. Lively's appearance in it is merely a supporting role, however, to the incredible dramatic work done by Wright, making it a decent watch, if only to see how far Lively would come as an actress who dominates any scene she's in. Speaking of dominating scenes...

By this point, most pop culture fanatics are probably sick of hearing about "It Ends With Us," the 2024 film based on the best-selling novel by Colleen Hoover. Directed by Justin Baldoni, it stars Blake Lively as a florist involved in a complicated love triangle between her abusive husband (Baldoni) and her wayward ex-boyfriend (Brandon Sklenar). Amidst all the tabloid fodder that has overshadowed the news cycle of this film, lots of people have probably missed a surprisingly strong performance from Lively in this tale of love and domestic violence. 

Although we at /Film praised "It Ends With Us" for its good intentions and committed performances, criticisms were saved for the plot and borderline overuse of romance novel tropes, with "Lively trying her damnedest to breathe life into a character that serves as the evolutionary next step following Bella Swan of 'Twilight,' ... [her] charm is infectious." Other reviews were even more complimentary of Lively's performance, praising her commitment and strength in bringing Hoover's character to life. Knowing the struggle Lively allegedly endured behind the scenes, it's no surprise that strength translated on-screen. 

Few roles in Blake Lively's career have felt as perfect for her as the titular role in "The Age of Adaline," despite having replaced Katherine Heigl as the film's lead actress. "The Age of Adaline," released in 2015 and directed by Lee Toland Krieger, centers on Adaline Bowman, a young woman in the early to mid 1900s who is nearly killed in a car accident but saved by a lightning strike, causing her to never age and forcing her to change her identity every few years. 

The main plot of "The Age of Adaline" follows Adaline's romance with a wealthy young man (Michiel Huisman), who turns out to be the son of a man she was once nearly engaged to (Harrison Ford). While some felt mixed about the film as a whole, none could deny the electric chemistry between Lively and Huisman, and some even went as far as to say the film features one of the best performances in Ford's career, which is quite high praise for the actor who stars in both "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "The Empire Strikes Back." 

Like some of Lively's other work, "The Age of Adaline" treads into trope-y territory, but it's worth a watch if only for its stellar cast. Some notable publications, like The Guardian, even singled out Lively as the actor who carries the entire film, designating her as a movie star worth her weight at the box office.

One of the few Blake Lively movies that pre-dated her A-list turn as Serena van der Woodsen in The CW's "Gossip Girl" was the peculiar romance film "Elvis and Anabelle." Lively plays Anabelle to Max Minghella's Elvis, a young funeral home worker who falls for a beauty queen who miraculously comes back to life before he can embalm her. The film premiered at South by Southwest in 2007, but it didn't release on HBO until 2012, despite positive reviews from the festival, particularly regarding the performances of both Lively and Minghella. 

Following its SXSW premiere, reviewers felt that, despite her character's technical death, Lively's performance was anything but lifeless. Additionally, her on-screen chemistry with Minghella was a grounding force for criticisms such as awkward tonal shifts and predictable romantic plotlines. It's a shame the film didn't get a wider release, given that based on its story, and it's actually one of the more unique and cutting-edge love stories ever put to film. 

Director Will Geiger attributed the film's potential unpopularity with audiences to a divide between the sentimentality of mainstream films versus the edginess of independent films of the era. Whether you think "Elvis and Anabelle" is just like any other sentimental romantic drama of the early 2000s, or perhaps a precursor to cult classics like "Warm Bodies," the film is definitely an underrated romance you need to watch the next time you have a movie-filled date night planned. 

One of Blake Lively's bigger box office successes was "The Shallows," a survival thriller about a young surfer who gets stranded over 180 meters from the shore and faces death by great white shark. "The Shallows" is by far the most physically demanding role of Lively's career, with director Jaume Collet-Serra telling /Film that despite the horror and violence on display, it earned a PG-13 rating thanks to Lively's commitment. Of one gruesome reaction shot, Collet-Serra said, "[Blake Lively] delivered that performance, and she makes me not want to cut away from her; she earns that closeup. If she was terrible in that closeup, I would cut something to else, but she's wonderful, and so I wanted to stay there."

It's a far less sentimental role than Lively's previous work, but even as an intense popcorn movie, Lively proved to critics she could carry an entire film almost entirely by herself (with only a CGI shark and seagull accompanying her). Some even favorably compared it to the mother of all shark attack movies, Steven Spielberg's iconic "Jaws," labeling "The Shallows" a stand-out in survival thrillers that can actually manage to make audiences' stomachs turn. 

However, Lively didn't leave the set without a few scars. One action sequence resulted in Lively almost breaking her nose, meaning that the blood coming from it on-camera is no special effect. That's another thing she and her husband have in common: getting injured doing their own stunts!

Compared to most other films on this list, "The Town" is far from being Blake Lively's film. The 2010 thriller was written and directed by Ben Affleck, who also stars as Doug, a bank robber preparing for a major heist whilst fighting romantic feelings for Claire (Rebecca Hall), a victim who he initially gets close to in order to find out what she told the cops. Lively plays a supporting role as Kris, the sister of Jeremy Renner's character, a fellow robber in Doug's team who is also romantically involved with Affleck's character. 

The film got glowing reviews from critics, praising Affleck's direction as well as the performances of actors like Renner and Hall. Unfortunately, Lively had her fair share of critics who were disapproving of her performance compared to the rest of the cast, including seasoned director Quentin Tarantino, who personally had a problem with the sheer gorgeousness of everybody in the cast of "The Town." Methinks thou dost protest too much, Mr. Tarantino. 

Contrarily, Lively was named by Esquire as the biggest reason to see "The Town," while Entertainment Weekly claimed she's the biggest scene-stealer in the entire film, particularly for the way her character evolves throughout the second half of the story, offering up some of Lively's best work as an actir. There may be many films like "The Town" to see, but none of them have Lively in as juicy of a supporting role as this one. 

Blake Lively isn't often mentioned in the pantheon of the best "Saturday Night Live" guest hosts ever, but despite having only hosted once, she made a huge impression with some memorable sketches. Hot off the success of "Gossip Girl," Lively hosted the 8th episode of the show's 35th season with musical guest Rihanna (who had her own memorable moment in the episode with an SNL Digital Short featuring "Shy Ronnie"). The episode had some great work from Lively as Tiger Woods' wife forcing the golf star to apologize for his extramarital affairs and in a spin-off of "Gossip Girl" set in Staten Island. 

However, easily her best work was in the 10-to-1 sketch "Potato Chip," one of the weirdest but most brilliant sketches in the entire show involving folksy NASA employees, a stolen potato chip, and an iconic spit take. In an oral history for UPROXX, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and writer John Solomon originally wrote it for Taylor Swift's hosting debut earlier that season, but they repurposed it for Lively, with then-head writer Seth Meyers saying, "I think when you're a host like Blake Lively, it's so fun to get a part that isn't inspired by Blake Lively in any way, shape or form. It was just pure performance." 

Lively was meant to guest host against in season 50, but backed out after her "It Ends With Us" controversy, which is a shame considering how great of a job she did on her first go of it.

Before Blake Lively was turned into a star by "Gossip Girl," her breakout role was as one of the four leads in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" with America Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, and Alexis Bledel. In the film, the girls are teenage best friends spending their first summers apart, all tied together by the magic pair of jeans that mysteriously fit all four of them. Lively plays Bridget, whose adventures at soccer camp result in losing her virginity to one of her coaches, which leads to mixed feelings of depression and worthlessness. 

Though some criticized its chick-flick tropes, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" was both a box office success and the subject of critical acclaim. Lively's performance in particular was said to improve as the film progresses and the examination of Bridget's dark albeit relatable struggles gets deeper, ultimately resulting in a final product that is powerfully acted by its leads, if not consistently good.

Lively reprised her role as Bridget in the sequel, while talks of a "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 3" have circled for nearly a decade now, with Lively confirming she's still extremely close with the other three girls that make up the sisterhood. Given how supportive the girls are of each other even to this day, the film's messaging about girlhood and growing up still rings true, making it required viewing in Lively's filmography. 

If Blake Lively has become known as an expert in fashion and pulpy movies, "A Simple Favor" is her magnum opus thus far as an actress. The 2018 film directed by Paul Feig stars Lively in the now-iconic role of Emily Nelson, a PR director who befriends Stephanie (Anna Kendrick), a fellow parent at her son's school. But when Emily goes missing, Stephanie investigates the truth of who this person really is. 

Among great reviews for the film's campy mystery and comedic tone, Lively was singled out by many as a stand-out performer. Some publications called out Lively and Kendrick's on-screen chemistry and banter as highlights, but we here at /Film felt "A Simple Favor" was maybe too self-aware for its own good. Nevertheless, Lively's performance is "self-assured, brashly confident, bold, and daring," and compared to Kendrick, "Lively is more acidic ... she's either the life coach Stephanie never knew she needed or a younger version of the kind of gone-to-seed older women drowning in booze."

While Emily might be the most Blake Lively-esque role the actress has played, from her one-liners to her sense of style and love for suit jackets, "A Simple Favor" clearly worked well enough with audiences to secure $100 million at the box office and a sequel coming to Amazon Prime this year, reuniting Lively, Kendrick, and Feig in a follow-up that will surely win over audiences who have maybe forgotten just how joyously entertaining Lively can be on-screen. 

As far as Blake Lively's acting goes, it's hard to top the role that made her a household name. The CW drama starred Lively as Serena van der Woodsen, a Manhattan socialite who is the subject of online chatter by the titular Kristen Bell-voiced blogger. Although some criticized the first season for deviating from its source material, by the end of those first 18 episodes, it was being called the modern teen drama set to shape the future of appointment television. From the introduction of the Internet and cell phones as plot devices to the clear understanding of teen drama tropes, "Gossip Girl" not only changed television, but it allowed Lively to prove herself as a born A-lister week after week. 

Although it's the show that made The CW what it is today, positive reviews didn't populate its entire run. Still, even by its ridiculously nonsensical ending, TV critics couldn't deny it was bizarrely entertaining, mostly thanks to actors like Lively who personified their characters both on and off screen. If anything, the combination of Lively's beauty and elegance as an actress turned Serena into one of the most recognizable characters in 21st century television, next to Walter White and Fleabag. 

A decade after its final season aired, "Gossip Girl" remains one of the best binge-worthy TV shows to watch, even inspiring a sequel series on HBO Max in 2021, though Lively had no involvement. Judging by the fact it was cancelled after two seasons, maybe it should've.