Serena van der Woodsen

Serena van der Woodsen (née**van der Woodsen**) is a main character in the *Gossip Girl* series of novels and

☀The series begins with Serena's return to the Upper East Side after spending a year in Cornwall, Connecticut, attending The Knightley School. Upon arriving home, she rejects romantic advances from both Chuck Bass and her best friend Blair Waldorf's boyfriend, Nate Archibald. She also reconnects with her mother, Lily van der Woodsen, and her recovering brother Eric van der Woodsen, who is in rehab after attempting suicide. After a chance meeting at the hotel where she is staying with Lily, Serena meets Dan Humphrey and the two begin a romantic relationship (Pilot). Soon after, Nate reveals to Blair that he slept with Serena before she left town and as a result, Blair begins to ice Serena out of her world (The Wild Brunch). During Ivy Week, Blair publicly outs Serena for having alcohol and drug problems in front of representatives from several Ivy League schools. Afterwards, Eric tells Blair he is the one in treatment; which leads to a reconciliation between Blair and Serena (Poison Ivy).

In Roman Holiday, Serena and Eric learn that Chuck's father, Bart Bass, is going to marry Lily. After spring break, they move in with the Bass' as they prepare to blend their households. The move ultimately shakes Serena more than she anticipated and it begins to cause problems in her relationship with Dan (The Blair Bitch Project). Things take a turn for the worse when Serena's old frenemy, Georgina Sparks, comes back to town. They begin to hang out again but Serena asks her to stay away when she misses the SATs after a night out with her. Angry, Georgina befriends Dan using an alias as a girl named Sarah (Desperately Seeking Serena).

Scared of what will happen next, Serena goes to Blair and tells her the major secret Georgina has on her: that she killed someone. After her revelation, she leaves and Blair eventually finds her, drunk and messed up. She asks Nate and Chuck to help and after she's cleaned up, Dan comes by to see her. He asks her what is going on and she lies that she cheated on him. Hurt, he leaves the apartment leaving Serena with Blair, Nate, and Chuck. She then tells them the whole story: that after she slept with Nate at the Shepherd wedding, she went to meet up with Georgina and a mutual friend, Pete Fairman. However, unbeknownst to her, Georgina had set up a camera to film her having sex with Pete. When Serena arrived at the hotel, she began to make out with Pete but didn't do anything, suggesting he take a line of cocaine before they do anything else. He does so, but overdoses and begins seizing. She and Georgina leave the hotel room but not before she calls an ambulance. Afterwards, she waited across the street, wanting to see Pete being revived: but instead saw him being wheeled out in a body bag. Feeling guilty for his death, she left for Connecticut.its television adaption, in which she is portrayed by Blake Lively.

Throughout the series, Serena has an on-again, off-again relationship with Dan Humphrey and the two have the longest running relationship on the show. Dan and Serena finally get married in the series finale.

Serena is regarded as the "it girl" of the Upper East Side. She is best friends with Blair Waldorf and also has a close friendship with Nate Archibald and Chuck Bass.

She, Dan and Blair are the only characters that appear in every episode of the TV series.

## Summary

Serena van der Woodsen is the daughter of William and Lily van der Woodsen. The story begins with her return to New York from boarding school. Shortly after her return, she realizes a lot has changed since she left. Her friends are not too happy about her return, including her best friend Blair Waldorf.

She then meets Dan Humphrey and the two begin a romantic relationship and soon fall in love. Serena's storylines often surround her disastrous relationship choices and her struggle to find where she fits in the world outside the Upper East Side. In the finale, Dan and Serena get married, surrounded by friends and family.

She appears to be 16 through 21 years old in the series.

## Novel Series

In the novel series, Serena was born into Manhattan's elite society. Her mother is Lily van der Woodsen, a very wealthy heiress, and her father William van der Woodsen, is a billionaire doctor. Serena also has an older brother named Erik, who attends Brown. Serena comes back from boarding school for seemingly unknown reasons that are later revealed in a prequel. Often times she waltzes her way easily through life, which makes her best friend Blair furious; especially when she has to work for the things Serena attains via her charm.

Serena goes to Yale at the end of the series. Similar to the television adaptation, she dates a variety of different boys, including Nate, whom she lost her virginity to. Through the books, she realize that she truly loves Nate, but he is still Blair's boyfriend. In the thirteenth novel, she decides to stay in New York to be with Nate, but at the end, he leaves to not get in between her and Blair.

## Television Series

The series begins with Serena's return to the Upper East Side after spending a year in Cornwall, Connecticut, attending The Knightley School. Upon arriving home, she rejects romantic advances from both Chuck Bass and her best friend Blair Waldorf's boyfriend, Nate Archibald. She also reconnects with her mother, Lily van der Woodsen, and her recovering brother Eric van der Woodsen, who is in rehab after attempting suicide. After a chance meeting at the hotel where she is staying with Lily, Serena meets Dan Humphrey and the two begin a romantic relationship (Pilot). Soon after, Nate reveals to Blair that he slept with Serena before she left town and as a result, Blair begins to ice Serena out of her world (The Wild Brunch). During Ivy Week, Blair publicly outs Serena for having alcohol and drug problems in front of representatives from several Ivy League schools. Afterwards, Eric tells Blair he is the one in treatment; which leads to a reconciliation between Blair and Serena (Poison Ivy).

In Roman Holiday, Serena and Eric learn that Chuck's father, Bart Bass, is going to marry Lily. After spring break, they move in with the Bass' as they prepare to blend their households. The move ultimately shakes Serena more than she anticipated and it begins to cause problems in her relationship with Dan (The Blair Bitch Project). Things take a turn for the worse when Serena's old frenemy, Georgina Sparks, comes back to town. They begin to hang out again but Serena asks her to stay away when she misses the SATs after a night out with her. Angry, Georgina befriends Dan using an alias as a girl named Sarah (Desperately Seeking Serena).

Scared of what will happen next, Serena goes to Blair and tells her the major secret Georgina has on her: that she killed someone. After her revelation, she leaves and Blair eventually finds her, drunk and messed up. She asks Nate and Chuck to help and after she's cleaned up, Dan comes by to see her. He asks her what is going on and she lies that she cheated on him. Hurt, he leaves the apartment leaving Serena with Blair, Nate, and Chuck. She then tells them the whole story: that after she slept with Nate at the Shepherd wedding, she went to meet up with Georgina and a mutual friend, Pete Fairman. However, unbeknownst to her, Georgina had set up a camera to film her having sex with Pete. When Serena arrived at the hotel, she began to make out with Pete but didn't do anything, suggesting he take a line of cocaine before they do anything else. He does so, but overdoses and begins seizing. She and Georgina leave the hotel room but not before she calls an ambulance. Afterwards, she waited across the street, wanting to see Pete being revived: but instead saw him being wheeled out in a body bag. Feeling guilty for his death, she left for Connecticut.