Potential Young Lily Van der Woodsen Actresses

These Celebs Were in the Running to Play Young Lily Van der Woodsen

Gossip Girl casting director David Rapaport shared insights with Jessica about the Gossip Girl spinoff focused on Serena’s mother, Lily van der Woodsen (Kelly Rutherford), featuring a pilot that included Brittany Snow and Krysten Ritter.

“I remember for that Dakota Johnson came in and Rooney Mara, and many other women who are now quite prominent but at the time were not as well-known,” he mentioned on XOXO. “And you know who delivered the best audition for that? I’ll tell you, because I think you’re friends with Nina Dobrev, that was one of the best auditions I had ever seen, specifically for that role.”

David stated he contacted the network and informed them, “She is a super star.”

The challenge, however, as he recounted on the podcast was that “she does not resemble Kelly Rutherford, because she was meant to portray a young Kelly Rutherford.” 

Nevertheless, he emphasized to the network that they should keep the Degrassi: The Next Generation star on their radar, “‘and you guys need to find something for her,'” he recalled. “I just remember thinking, ‘I am going to think about this girl in a couple of years and be like, ‘Oh god, I missed that opportunity.’ She was so incredible!”