Blake Lively's Real Name: Blake Ellender Brown

Quick answer: Blake Lively's birth name is Blake Ellender Brown. She was born on August 25, 1987, in Los Angeles, California, and works under the surname Lively.

Real name and early life

Major biographies and film databases record birth as Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987, in Los Angeles (often specified as Tarzana). The Library of Congress authority file is under Lively, Blake. Her mother is Elaine Lively (née McAlpin); her father is actor Ernie Lively (born Ernest Wilson Brown Jr.), who adopted the Lively surname used by Elaine's family from a prior marriage. Blake took Lively as her professional surname. She grew up in a show-business household in California and made an early film appearance before her television breakthrough.

Quick facts

• Real name: Blake Ellender Brown
• Known as: Blake Lively
• Born: August 25, 1987, in Los Angeles, California
• Known for: Actor
• Notable work: Gossip Girl, The Age of Adaline, A Simple Favor, It Ends with Us
• Sources checked: Library of Congress Name Authority; major biographies

Career highlights

Lively became a household name as Serena van der Woodsen on CW's Gossip Girl (2007–2012). Film work includes The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, The Age of Adaline, Café Society, A Simple Favor, and It Ends with Us (2024). She has also developed lifestyle and beverage brands alongside acting. Credits and publicity use Blake Lively; birth records and biographical sources retain Brown as the birth surname and Ellender as the middle name.

Name notes

Lively is a professional/family surname she adopted from her parents' public surname, not an invented fantasy alias. Birth name Blake Ellender Brown is documented in LOC-linked and entertainment biography sources. Some older profiles list variant middle names—prefer Ellender Brown when sources conflict. She is married to actor Ryan Reynolds; that does not change her professional billing.