Serena van der Woodsen
Serena van der Woodsen is described as 5' 7" with pale, long, blond hair and big, dark-blue eyes. She is slim and ethereally beautiful. She is very smart, but is often told that she is not working to her full potential. Her personality is not always as well regarded as her physical attributes. Like her sometimes best-friend Blair Waldorf, she and her family are prominent in New York society. Serena dabbled in modeling before landing a starring role in Breakfast at Fred's, a remake of Breakfast at Tiffany's. Serena has kept a steady string of admirers, including Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey, Aaron Rose, and an entire acapella group at Yale. Despite the attention she receives from the opposite sex, Serena longs for true romance. She seeks this in Nate, although Nate has been known to prefer Blair. She has fallen in love many times, but nothing has been too serious. Serena is much less demanding and uptight than Blair; however, she has a tendency to be self-centered. She gets what she wants with very little effort which causes a lot of people to dislike her. She is practically worshiped by freshman Jenny Humphrey who aspires to be just like her despite their physical differences. Serena is often criticized by her classmates who find her an excellent source of gossip, but resent her effortless good looks and her ability to get the attention of any male. Her brother, Erik, attends Brown. Her parents rarely appear in the series. At the end of the book series, Serena decided to stay in New York City, instead of attending one of the many Ivy Leagues schools she got into, because she wanted to discover her life for herself. She is portrayed by Blake Lively in the TV series.