Gossip Girl had quite the core cast who had no problem bringing the drama and intense storylines for six seasons, but there were always guest stars and surprising celebrity cameos to make things even more interesting. In the Upper East Side it wasn’t uncommon to rub elbows with the rich and famous, leaving room for a lot of celebrities to make appearances as themselves, and then there were also many actors and actresses brought in for guest character roles! Here are 12 celebrities you forgot guest starred or made an appearance on Gossip Girl:
12. Tinsley Mortimer
Reality TV fans now know socialite Tinsley Mortimer best as one of the newest stars of Real Housewives of New York City, but before being a reality TV star she made guest appearances on Gossip Girl. As a real-life New York socialite it made sense for her to appear at one of the Upper East Side’s swanky parties as herself. Mortimer appeared in two episodes of season two: “Summer Kind of Wonderful” and “The Serena Also Rises.”
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11. Vera Wang
For brides-to-be, Vera Wang is a wedding dress legend who often caters to the rich and the famous for their big day, so it was no surprise when Blair Waldorf also turned to the famed designer. Since Vera Wang’s appearance was so short, it was easily forgettable, but you can see her in season five’s “The End of the Affair?” when Blair planned her Royal wedding.
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10. Cyndi Lauper
When the girls just wanted to have fun at Blair Waldorf’s 20th birthday there was no better surprise guest than ’80s pop icon Cyndi Lauper. Lauper appeared as herself in “Bonfire of the Vanity” and naturally Blair was ecstatic about the famous surprise guest to her party. Fans of Lauper know she is no stranger to making TV and movie appearances either as herself and even as actress, including a recurring role in the ’90s sitcom Mad About You and as Avalon Harmonia in the drama Bones.
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9. Armie Hammer
Back in 2009, the handsome Armie Hammer was an up and coming actor who had only had a few appearances in series such as Arrested Development and Veronica Mars before he appeared in four episodes of Gossip Girl as Gabriel Edwards, the man Serena thought she drunkenly married in Spain in season two. Now, the actor has gone on to star in movies such as The Social Network, Mirror Mirror, The Lone Ranger, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E, leaving his Gossip Girl days far behind him.
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8. Brittany Snow
The gorgeous Brittany Snow is known for her many roles in shows and movies including Guiding Light, The Pacifier, American Dreams, Pitch Perfect and more, so it isn’t surprising her small role in Gossip Girl often gets overlooked. In the 2009 episode “Valley Girls” Brittany Snow starred as a 17-year-old Lily Rhodes (van der Woodsen) in the flashback episode and confirmed to fans everywhere that young Lily is was as much of a whiner as the adult Lily.
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7. Rachel Zoe
Rachel Zoe is a renowned fashion designer, businesswoman and writer, so she was the perfect as an attendee of one of Blair Waldorf’s fabulous parties. Unfortunately for Zoe she got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time when in Blair’s rush to stop an embarrassing tape from playing, Zoe got pushed over. While at first she was fine, when she went to get up, she grabbed a table and ended up pulling down the chocolate fondue all over her head, resulting in the classic line “I….die…”
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6. Michael Bloomberg
New York City played as important of a part in the series as any of the cast, so even former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg made a brief appearance on the show. The politician may have played himself, but he had no problem having a little fun either as in his scene he expressed shock at learning the real identity of Gossip Girl because he truly thought it was Dorota.
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5. Katie Cassidy
These days Katie Cassidy is known best for her starring role in the superhero series Arrow as Laurel Lance/Black Canary, but in 2010 she was guest starring in Gossip Girl‘s fourth season as Juliet Sharp. Juliet was the main antagonist of the season as she worked to tear down Serena after believing it was Serena’s fault that her brother Ben Donovan was sent to prison. Eventually Serena and Juliet team up and Cassidy’s time on the show came to an end after Serena promised to get Ben out of jail and Juliet promises not to go after Serena or try to hurt anyone else.
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4. Clemence Poesy
In one of her few English speaking roles, actress Clemence Poesy became a recurring character on Gossip Girl in season four when she appeared in four episodes as Eva Coupeau. Her character caused a lot of issues for fans as she became the girl Chuck fell in love with after she saved his life and then got in the way of Chuck and Blair’s romance for a period of time. Now, the model and actress is better known to audiences for her role as Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter franchise.
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3. Hilary Duff
While most Gossip Girl guest stars only had one episode parts, the series marked a huge return to TV for beloved actress Hilary Duff when she had a six episode guest starring role in season three. When Duff took on the role of Olivia Burke, she was definitely out to prove she certainly wasn’t Lizzie McGuire anymore. Olivia Burke was a famous actress attending NYU, Dan’s girlfriend and eventually the instigator of that infamous threesome with Dan and Vanessa.
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2. Sebastian Stan
Back in 2007, actor Sebastian Stan was just getting his career off the ground when he guest starred as Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl‘s first season and then reprised the role through nine more episodes before his final appearance in season three’s “The Unbearable Lightness of Being.” At the time fans had no reason to pay extra attention to the handsome young actor, but now he has become a pretty big blockbuster star after taking on the role of Bucky Barnes/The Winter Solider in the Captain America films. He has also appeared in Gone, Once Upon a Time and The Martian in recent years, making his time on Gossip Girl long forgotten for the actor.
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1. Tyra Banks
Among her very busy schedule as a TV personality, host and buinesswoman, Tyra Banks always leaves room for some acting roles and her turn in Gossip Girl was one of the best. In the season three episode “Dan de Fleurette,” Banks starred as Ursula Nyquist, the co-star in a film starring Hilary Duff’s Olivia Burke character. Banks’ appearance was pretty surreal as her character was at times almost completely crazy and at other times simply hilarious, making her one of the best forgotten guest stars on the popular series.