Serena Celia van der Woodsen is the fictional character and the protagonist in the Gossip Girl novel series and in its TV adaptation, in which she is portrayed by Blake Lively. Serena is featured on the blog of the series' mysterious narrator, "Gossip Girl". Serena is known as the 'it girl of Manhattan' and is a character that appears to easily get whatever she wants because of her captivating beauty and charismatic personality. She is the daughter of a successful doctor, and a well known socialite/heiress. Novel series Serena is a tall, blonde, slim, and beautiful teenage girl from the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Many of the girls at the Constance Billard school accuse her of using her good looks as a means to secure everything she wants. She is not particularly academically skilled, but she is often told that she is not meeting her full potential. Her father runs the same Dutch shipping firm his great-great-grandfather founded in the 18th century, and her mother, Lillian van der Woodsen, is a socialite, art collector, and philanthropist. Her mother and father are on the boards of all major charities and art organizations in the city. The van der Woodsens reside at 994 Fifth Avenue, a ritzy, white-gloved doorman building directly across the street from The Met and Central Park. Serena and her family own half the top floor in a 14-room penthouse. Serena has a nail-biting habit and also cuts her split ends off, mainly during her classes at Constance Billard. Though exposed and aware of the on-goings in the fashion world, she, unlike Blair, is not as meticulous about her fashion choices and wardrobe. She is described to have an effortless way about her. Serena is charismatic, charming, talented, funny, kind, care-free, and laid-back. These attributes help her to thrive and often, whether willingly or unwillingly, attract older men. Despite all of her attributes, Janet Malcolm of The New Yorker considers her "incandescently beautiful, exceptionally kind, and, in the end, it has to be said, somewhat boring." Television series Characterization People compares her character with Josh Schwartz's original it-girl creation, Marissa Cooper, stating that Serena "seems to have it all, but in addition to a party girl reputation, dark family secrets and a disregard for high society, Serena one-ups the sulky Coop with a history of BFF betrayal." Jason Gay of Rolling Stone describes Serena