All About Blake Lively's Parents, Ernie and Elaine Lively

Both Hollywood veterans, Ernie and Elaine Lively were married from 1979 until Ernie’s death in 2021

Blake Lively’s acting talent runs in the family.

The Gossip Girl star is the daughter of Ernie and Elaine Lively, both of whom spent their careers in Hollywood; her father as an actor and director and her mother as an actor and talent manager. Including Blake, the couple share five children together, all of whom have worked in the entertainment industry.

As a child, Blake didn’t have any interest in an acting career, but it was somewhat inescapable due to her parents’ and siblings professions.

“I've grown up on sets,” she said in a 2006 interview with Radio Free Entertainment. “My mom is a manager and always has kids come in for coaching, my family's always going over lines for an audition, I'm always stealing craft service. So it was so much a part of my life that I never felt a desire for it. And it seemed like such a nightmare.”

However, her father, who died in 2021, cast her in a small role in his 1998 film Sandman when she was 10 years old, and the rest is history.

Here’s what to know about Blake Lively’s parents, including their red-carpet appearances and Elaine’s beauty advice to her daughter.

They were married in 1979

Ernie and Elaine were married in 1979. Elaine had previously been married to a man named Ronnie Lively, and when she and Ernie tied the knot, he took her last name.

It’s not known how exactly they met, but both Ernie and Elaine worked in Hollywood at the time — he as an actor and she as a talent manager.

They were both in the entertainment industry

Ernie’s acting career spanned 50 years, dating back to the 1975 TV series The Waltons. He was an everyman actor known for his numerous other television appearances, including The Dukes of Hazzard, Turner & Hooch, Falcon Crest, Malibu Shores, The X-Files, The West Wing, That '70s Show and Murder, She Wrote.

His big screen credits include Mulholland Falls, The Beverly Hillbillies, Passenger 57, The Man in the Moon, Showdown in Little Tokyo, Air America and Shocker. The actor also famously played Blake's father in the 2005 film The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its 2008 sequel.

Elaine worked as a talent manager, as well as an actor, and appeared in the 1993 online game series Return to Zork.

They have five children together

Ernie and Elaine share two biological children together: son Eric, born in 1981, and daughter Blake, born in 1987. Ernie was also step-father to Elaine’s three children from her previous marriage: daughter Lori, born in 1966, son Jason, born in 1986, and daughter Robyn, born in 1972.

All five of their children followed in their parents’ acting footsteps. Blake is the most widely known of the bunch, starring as Serena van der Woodsen on the CW’s hit teen drama Gossip Girl, as well as in films like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005), Green Lantern (2011) and A Simple Favor (2018). Eric, meanwhile, appeared in the 1999 teen comedy American Pie and the Disney Channel series So Weird.

Lori’s credits include TV series such as The Bold and the Beautiful, Two and a Half Men and ‘Til Death. Jason, who is also a director, appeared in National Lampoon’s European Vacation (1985), Night of Creeps (1986) and The Dukes of Hazzard.

Robyn is known for her roles in films like Teen Witch (1989) and The Karate Kid III (1989). More recently, she appeared on episodes of The Good Doctor, Cobra Kai and 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Ernie died in 2021

On June 3, 2021, Ernie died at age 74 in Los Angeles of cardiac complications. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he was surrounded by his wife and children at the time of his death.

The actor previously underwent a groundbreaking heart surgery in 2013, making him the first known patient to undergo retrograde gene therapy for the heart. The procedure involved injecting his own stem cells into his heart to repair damaged muscles and arteries.

"I woke up the other morning and told my wife, 'I haven't felt this good in years,'" Ernie told PEOPLE after the surgery. "I moved to Utah because of the snow, but I haven't been able to ski. I literally didn't have the heart to do it. Now, I'm excited about living the rest of my life instead of sitting around. Dr. Patel saved my life."

One week after his death, Blake shared a tribute to her father. On her Instagram Story, the star posted a photo of herself leaning her head on Ernie’s shoulder as he kissed her forehead, adding a brown heart above the image.

Later that month, the actor shared a photo of her late father embracing her husband, Ryan Reynolds, along with the caption, “My guys.”

They’ve appeared on the red carpet with Blake

Elaine and Ernie have been known to join her daughter Blake on the red carpet.

In May 2023, the actress took her mom along as her date for the grand reopening of Fifth Avenue's Tiffany & Co. in New York City. The mother-daughter duo posed for photos together, with Blake wearing a brown vegan leather shirtdress by Brandon Maxwell as Elaine sported a Tiffany-blue blouse and black suit.

Blake and Elaine have also had other red carpet outings together, such as at award shows like the Emmys and VMAs, Fashion Week runway shows and Blake’s movie premieres.

Ernie attended the 2009 Golden Globes after party with his daughter and posed with her on the red carpet for the 2008 premiere of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, in which he played her father.

Elaine gives Blake beauty advice

In an exclusive cover story for PEOPLE in 2014, Blake opened up about her fun relationship with her mom.

“I’ll never forget the time my mother showed up with her best friend and two daughters, and all four of us dressed up in matching clothes, shoes and hats to go pick up my brother from school,” the star recalled. “I thought it was a fun thing to do, but we stepped outside my brother’s school and he was mortified!"

She added, “My mom thought that was hilarious.”

Elaine has also given Blake plenty of beauty and wellness advice over the years — some of which was a bit unconventional.

“I cut my foot on some glass the other day, and she told me to tape a piece of meat to my foot,” Blake told PEOPLE. “I didn’t do it, but it probably would have worked.”

The actress also added that she does follow some of her mother’s home beauty remedies, such as putting egg yolks and mayonnaise in her hair.

“I swear it works!” Blake said.

They’ve showed their support for Blake’s husband, Ryan Reynolds

In addition to appearing with Blake on the red carpet, the actor’s parents have also shown their support for their son-in-law, Ryan Reynolds.

The couple attended Reynold’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2016, and the support goes both ways.

In a Mother’s Day tribute post in 2020, Reynolds shared a photo of Blake, Elaine and his mother Tammy, and added a humorous yet heartfelt caption.

"I salute these three incredible mothers for their wisdom, strength and ability to forever appear as though they’re standing at the doorway to their own surprise birthday party #HappyMothersDay ❤️," he wrote at the time.

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