Jessica Szohr was one of those people who, because of her less than amazing “Gossip Girl” character, wasn’t held in a high esteem by PopWrap. But then we met and it’s been adoration ever since. In fact, just as Vanessa had previously warped our opinion of Jessica, meeting the bubbly 25-year-old changed the way we viewed V. Suddenly her clothes weren’t as garish, her lines weren’t as cheesy and her behavior wasn’t as annoying.

This weekend Jessica trades Fendi for fish as one of the nubile spring break-ers “Piranha 3D’s” pack of carnivorous swimmers sets their sites on. But Jessica snagged the main female role of Kelly, so unlike the countless other scantily clad bimbos just itching to take their tops off, Jessica will probably live to see the end credits — and potentially a sequel.

Which may or may not be music to Jessica’s ears since she’s not a big fan of water in the first place. So why would someone who doesn’t care for H2O spend two months submerged in it? Why don’t I let her tell you.

PopWrap: What were your first thoughts when a script landed on your desk with the title “Piranha 3D?”
Jessica Szohr: At first I was like, “Oh ‘Piranha,’ they did it years ago,” but then they started telling me who else was attached and I watched some of the director’s other movies — his vision was very cool. Also, Kelly is a very different character than Vanessa, who I’ve been playing for three years now, so with all of those things I thought, “why not – let’s go have fun, get scared, be in the water and ride on a boat for two months.” [laughs]
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Though she plays a poised, confident Upper East Sider on “Gossip Girl,” it’s hard to imagine that Blake Lively is shy. But according to the actress, she has a hard time opening up to others.

“I’m actually a very shy person – that’s a big secret, so don’t tell,” Lively tells actor Ben Affleck in the September issue of Interview magazine. “But being in [acting] classes pushed me to break out of that a little bit. It’s like nature versus nurture: I’m naturally very shy, but I was brought up in a way where I had to get up and get out of that.”

Lively, 23, had to force herself out of her comfort zone when she began working on the upcoming thriller “The Town.” On her very first day of work, the actress says she had to film a sex scene with Affleck, who also stars in and directed the film.

The blond beauty also takes her acting skills out onto the red carpet, where she says she’s not as comfortable as she may appear.

“With acting, I think half of it is just acting confident,” she tells the mag. “We stand on these red carpets and pose in these dresses, but we’re all only so confident. It doesn’t mean we think we’re great looking or anything. It’s all a facade.”

Coming from a family of actors, Lively credits her upbringing for the maturity she now encompasses.

“I have a big, close, loving family, and they’re all from the South, but because so many of them are actors, everyone was very normal about it,” she explains. “It was just like any job to them. They always came home and talked about it around the dinner table the way any family talks about work, but it wasn’t anything special.”

In fact, the actress jokes that her leap into Hollywood is due to everyday perks found around the movie set.

“I don’t feel like I ever had any sort of Hollywood upbringing,” she says. “I got to travel and visit my family on set. I got to eat craft service. I actually think that was the reason I got into acting: the free food. I literally remember on my first job being like, ‘Yes! I get to have craft service every day!’”

Source: NY Daily News

Leighton is on the cover of the July issue of Cosmopolitan Spain! Check out her editorial in the gallery!

[09] Cosmopolitan Spain – July 2010

Blake is on the cover of the June Issue of Vogue! Check out the scans in the gallery!

Blake > Magazine Scans > Vogue – June 2010

This past Monday (April 5), “Gossip Girl” fans got to see Dorota, Blair Waldorf’s lady-in-waiting, accept the marriage proposal of her adorable baby daddy.

And since there is that wee little one on the way, there will be no time wasted in making Dorota an honest woman.

Next week, the trusted Waldorf employee will walk down the aisle with a little help from her adopted family. Zuzanna Szadkowski, who plays the character, gives Korbi TV the scoop on what to expect…

Congratulations on the engagement.
ZS: [Laughs] Thank you! I’m really excited about it. I think [next week's hour] is going to be a great episode. Basically, it results in this huge, gorgeous kind of Russian-Polish hybrid of a wedding at the Astoria World Manor, which is made fabulous, “Gossip Girl” style. It’s actually a big event and for Dorota it’s an opportunity to don a glamorous gown. It’s certainly a family affair with Blair as a bridesmaid and Cyrus and Eleanor in attendance. It brings everyone together for these major festivities.

All our favorite Upper East-siders have been invited?
ZS: Oh yeah. There’s a lot of action against the backdrop of the wedding and everyone’s involved, basically.

Dorota is always doing favors for Blair and getting her out of bad situations. Is this Blair’s chance to pay Dorota back?
ZS: There would be no wedding without Blair and Chuck and, for once, they’re kind of scrambling around on her behalf.

In the last episode, we saw what seemed to be a Chuck and Blair breakup. We have to assume that the aftermath of that drama will surrounding the wedding, yes?
ZS: Well, I think, you know, there were some very bad things that happened last Monday, but I’m with Dorota in that we both have a lot of hope for Chuck and Blair to work things out and we love the Chuck-Blair dynamic.

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