As many predicted, Blake Lively covers the September issue of Vogue. What no one could have predicted was a cover and editorial shot by director Baz Luhrmann, with an editorial theme of Hitchcockian glamour and intrigue – it mostly (but not exclusively) seems to be based on Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief. All this editorial does is remind me of two things simultaneously: Blake is a terrible actress AND she cannot do high-end editorials whatsoever. I’m sure those things are connected, but I’ve always noted that Blake’s look, energy and personal aesthetic simply doesn’t translate to artsy editorials or high-end ad campaigns. She’s pretty, of course. But she’s always going to have a downmarket look – Target, not Saks. Yes, I fully admit: I am a hater. Anyway, you can read Blake’s Vogue interview here. Some highlights:
She loves Baz Luhrmann but she’s so shy: “I just love Baz so much. Because he celebrates love. Nobody does love like that…. I’m a very shy person, so I don’t like doing photo shoots, really. Because when I’m acting, I’m playing a character. And I don’t…I don’t feel super comfortable in front of a camera. It’s part of why I don’t want to be in magazines. I know it’s not something I’m supposed to say—I mean, this is I think the first cover I’ve done in four years. Because I just… I’m just too shy.”
Focus on her family: “My life has become more intimate,” she explains, meaning she has been focused on her young children in recent years, and taking fewer movie roles. “But when they said Baz will do it, I thought, Okay, I’ve always wanted to work with Baz. Even if it’s just a week doing a photo shoot for Vogue, that’s still working with him. Seeing through his lens and how he tells stories. Gracing these pages is not my gift to the world. I understand I’m lucky to do it.”
Her theories of baking: “I’d so much rather buy a box of Betty Crocker vanilla cake mix, because they’ve already done the chemistry of it, the science, and then now I get to make it taste delicious. Now I get to add my bourbon or my elderflower liqueur…”
Her mother told her “You can’t mess it up” about raising children: “And I could very much mess it up! My instinct is I really want to do the work and prepare and be ready before I even take the first step in trying. And she’s somebody who’s just like, Go go! Learn as you go!”
She knows how lucky she is: “I was thinking about what you said before, about luck. Wouldn’t it be terrible if I didn’t realize how lucky I am?”
The one thing I will say in Blake’s defense is that it’s very true that her life is more “intimate” now and she really has taken several big steps back from even a part-time career as an actress. That’s true, and it’s true that she hasn’t done a big fashion shoot like this in years. But Blake declaring that she’s shy? Please. No. What’s next, she’ll claim to be an introvert? She’s just following a trend. Anyway, this Vogue piece was sort of hilariously bad, or maybe Blake is just an exceptionally bland interview subject. The bulk of it was quotes from other people swearing that she’s a movie star (where is the evidence of that???) and descriptions of the jewelry she wore during the interview. I think the guy who wrote it was a magpie.
Cover & Instagram courtesy of Vogue.
Talk about trying to make fetch happen…
She’s so bland and boring. Why not put Simone Biles or Megan on the cover? This is just another bland, white woman cover.
Didn’t Blake claim Cherokee ancestry in a commercial for Cover Girl or something? She’s a perfectly beautifully bland woman in a time where there are so many more interesting women out there who’ve done wildly creative things with their lives, well beyond marrying Ryan Reynolds and starting a failed online whatever it was that claimed to want to return to the “allure of antebellum.”
It’s been a decade of trying to make her happen. Anna Wintour is the only person in the world that thinks she’s a movie star.
I don’t know why Wintour keeps inviting her to the Gala every year, like she’s somebody. I don’t know anyone who’s seen her in anything.
Im not a hater and not a fan. She is not shy in front of cameras. I believe she is shyER than before. When you have 4 kids, you’re a celebrity getting older, with cameras around you, you’re gonna be more uncomfortable and more shy in front of cameras because people will possibly going to say things about you that you’re not gonna like, that is going to hurt. The better looking you were, the harder it is, is my guess.
Remember when she once bragged about holding out for Chanel. I don’t recall anything about that campaign except she was definitively not what one would consider the face of Chanel.
She still looks the same. I understand she’s older but she’s still squeezing into tight dresses. The people who are saying bad things about her are probably blind… or maybe I am… she still looks good as she did on Gossip Girl imo.
I can believe Nicole Kidman is shy. Blake, not so much.
I find her really annoying and she is a terrible actress. Her Betty buzz mixers were on sale a few weeks ago and I got them for a party. They had no taste and were so basic and a friend of mine said..even her mixers are fng boring. So at least she is consistent???
Annoying and both her and her hubby are overexposed right now. Also, I don’t believe for one second she is shy.
She and her husband are King and Queen of the Bland. The reason why they are popular is because there are a lot of bland people out there.
I actually thought that I was in the minority regarding Blake’s pathetic for acting…. I have never experienced watching her and been impressed. Please, such utter BS that she is shy and being photographed. What garbage!
She has Pokemon hair
This Queen Amidala cover hair is really so, so, bad and much too harsh for her.
I don’t have much interest in her current work but fair play: she calmed down a lot from those early days when she was fame HUNGRY. She seems to have found a niche and is content with her family. She grew up a bit I guess. I just can’t work up much energy about her either way.
She’s just very boring.
She’s fine. She’s basic. She was incredibly lucky. She longed for the days of antebellum (because slavery is so chic, don’t you know?), but I don’t understand the hate.
I think she’s harmless.
It’s funny, when Gossip Girl came out and she was the IT girl of the moment, she and her GG character’s best friend- Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester) were on the cover of Rolling Stone maybe. And Leighton is also an exceptionally beautiful girl- but next to Blake, she looked- ordinary. Blake is gorgeous, and, as they say- the camera LOVES her. She is a striking beauty.
Otherwise- she really stays out of the limelight a lot of the time these days, good for her.
But did y’all read the book – are you into the movie?
I have not read it- but any romanticizing of domestic violence concerns me- i hope it is handled well.
I always thought of blake as a but-her-face. She’s improved over the years but its her body that is the star.
Body, and long blonde hair. If she cut her hair into a bob or had brown hair…I don’t think she ever would’ve been the IT girl.
That said, I completely disagree with the original comment. I think Leighton Meester outshone Blake, both physically and talent wise.
She’s not a movie star but she is married to one.
With the right role she can shine. she was good in Age of Adaline. She was believable as someone every man would fall for. I think she is the type to inspire a bit of dislike from women though… not because of her looks, but perhaps because of the way she carries herself ( laughing at her own bad jokes with Jimmy Fallon haha… just kidding, sort of ).
Still, I understand her success better than that of Ryan Reynolds. He seems really, really lucky.
I’m not a hater because I don’t like to be a hater (except when I’m watching sports maybe) but I do get second-hand embarrassment anytime I read or watch an interview with Blake Lively and I really can’t put my finger on the problem. I think I’m just not the intended audience.
Also, she’s going to place Taylor Swift’s name in every single one of the interviews for this movie because she really needs the swifties to go see that movie lol (it’s not in the quotes in this article but she said something like “she’s my bonus sister”)
Leighton Meester is right there and they insist on giving Blake the stage. I don’t get it . I know her husband apologized for having their wedding on a plantation but I still am nauseated by it. I just don’t see her appeal, but she doesn’t need me to.
She isn’t easy to root for. She is
– tall, slim, blonde & beautiful.
– very photogenic
– not a particularly talented actress compared to her peers.
– married to Ryan frickin’ Reynolds
– Ryan is stinking rich
Why would I care about what Blake Lively is up to?
.
I think she seems lovely and kind. She’s been actively promoting her projects this summer so we’ve seen a lot of her recently but just because she has to put herself out there for work doesn’t mean she doesn’t get to feel shy about it all inside. Multiple posts ripping her apart feels mean.
I agree Briar. She’s not doing anything to hurt anyone and yet there is so much cattiness in the comments whenever she’s mentioned in a post. It’s strange how she brings out so many people’s unkindness for just getting on with her life. She might not be the best actress out there but not everyone is going to be.
@Mei, jealousy brings out cattiness, unkindness and jumping on the bandwagon of what other people’s opinions are. Naturally no one on this website would admit to that just because she’s attractive, talented (yes, she’s as good an actress as many out there in HW,) rich, has a gorgeous/talented/funny mega-rich husband and four lovely little ones.
Bring it on bitches, “No not me!”
Agree. I have always liked her
@Mei @Emme @Manda … I was honestly nervous to check the comments after I posted so thank you for these nice replies!
Agreed, I have a soft spot for her, too.
I think she’s charming and engaging, and yes, absolutely beautiful.
I also appreciate her and Reynolds apologising for their choice of wedding location and for trying to make up for it since. Preserve was stupid, but not every business needs to be a success. I’m interested in her hair care line, she has lovely hair.
She literally made a whole life style website and article about the beauty of the antebellum and how lucky she was to have married d at a plantation. But sure glamourising slavery is fine
Vapid. Just vapid.
I was really struck by the interview quotes insisting she is a movie star. All I could think of was “since when?”. It’s really hard to belive that she’s shy too. The only part of the profile I agreed with is that she has made a little niche for herself with the type of films she makes – that would have made more of an interesting read but maybe Vogue isn’t the right publication for that.
She just falls flat for me. Like there is something that doesn’t translate to the page or screen. I dont hate her – I dont have a lot of energy for her either way – but I looked at these pictures and just thought…..its flat. There was no energy between her and Jackman. A different actress or model could have made those pictures sizzle with chemistry with Jackman. And there was just nothing.
(people can say a lot about hitchcock as we look back at this methods, but he really was great at casting couples that just….sizzled together. Notorious works because of the chemistry between Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. Same with Cary and Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window, etc). If you’re trying to recreate Hitchcock, you need to recreate that chemistry and this does not.
I don’t think she’s shy. I think she’s found a comfortable medium where her own entrepreneurships and her husband’s millionare ventures allow her to really focus on her day-to-day, without the need to grasp for relevance.
She does have a luminous, photogenic beauty and she’s a fairly decent actress; which reflect on her one-key roles. Personally, I always found Leighton more beautiful and appealing; but no big production would touch her with a pole image-wise, due to her problematic mother’s tantrums. Blake was the quintaessential all-American beauty; including a happy, carefree energy that Leighton couldn’t muster.
I’m sure that she wouldn’t be laying so low if she hadn’t married someone who’s on route to become a billionaire (obviously, with her support). I object those who portray Ryan as ‘the’ mega-star in the family. Deadpool franchise has been his most succesful movies in ages, and it hasn’t grasped Top Gun or Avengers recognition.
This is alame interview.
Used to feel the same was about her as an actress until I saw A Simple Favor. She’s terrific in that. But yeah, not much of a model.
I’ll give her one thing: I’m glad she admits she’s lucky.
The people who truly drive me around the bend are the ones who insist they got where they are because they worked hard (or, worse, God blessed them). A lot of hardworking people are also unlucky. And it’s luck that determines what family you’re born into, what breaks you catch, what propels you into comfort.
She has this old 60s mannequin look about her all of the time and I don’t understand how that is always the case. The top photo looks as if she is witnessing a car accident of in the distance and I couldn’t help but laugh when I first saw it. I thought that it was just a bad photo because of the background but the photo with everyone in the background was the same thing. She’s attractive but she is just missing something and I feel like that has always been the case. She’s as overrated as her husband who’s voice is always like nails on a chalkboard to me. I don’t think she’s shy. I can’t help but remember the time she was seated next to Zendaya at a fashion show and was hysterically laughing as if she was desperate to get attention. Not the actions of someone who’s shy and doesn’t like cameras on her.
So true! She says she’s shy but she surely doesn’t dress nor act like a shy person. She acts and dress as an attention seeker, which is something shy people would avoid doing.
I saw her in person back in the early 20-teens and she is breathtakingly beautiful — and honestly, it doesn’t come across in print, somewhat in movies. (Note: I haven’t seen this Vogue spread in person, so can’t judge that. I like this cover. And Baz is a trip!)
Is she the best actress? Meh. But there has always been beautiful women who are “meh” actresses, like Jennifer Lopez, though, like Blake, they have their moments in certain movies.
I also agree with some comments above: whenever there is a beautiful blond white woman profiled in some way on here, the cattiness comes out.
The problem that Blake represents in Hollywood (and the world at large) is that she’s achieved success and continues to receive opportunities when it’s evident that she is not above average in skills/talent. She’s a walking celebration of white mediocrity. Yes, she’s not actively doing harm and sometimes the criticism can feel a bit pointed or harsh. But also yes, the consumers and market can voice their complaints that she’s just not bringing much to the table. Please stop giving her a pass just because she checks off certain beauty ideals.
ps. My personal gripe is her fashion is so so bad. She’s pretty, tall, fit, and has great hair. The reason she looks downmarket (I’m thinking JCPenney, Kohls, Kmart, etc.) is because she does not have an innate sense of fashion. I don’t either but if I had her money, I’d hired a stylist and look amazing every day if I wanted to.
Yeah, something is off with her fashion. Her taste is almost like J-Lo’s but it works on J-lo, but not her. She aspires to look “hot” instead of elegant.
I actually loved her in The Town and I loved the film. I don’t think she’s mediocre but yes she has gone very far. I do find her beautiful I love the imperfections in her face it’s very Uma Thurman to me like you put it all together and it’s beautiful. I hate to give points for this, but she kept her face. I never see her and say oh she looks like Sienna Miller now or someone else. She kept her face, which, in Hollywood, is huge. Other than her worship of ol Southern culture, I enjoy that she loves fashion, she seems like a good wife, mom, and friend. She doesn’t seem threatened or intimidated by other beautiful successful women. There’s got a be a reason why Taylor and Beyonce both seem to like her. She never parades her kids in front of cameras I basically don’t even know their names or what they look like.
This seems like a weird thing to praise someone for but yeah, I find her not annoying. She strikes me as the opposite of Kate. Not a mean girl. A girl’s girl who celebrates other people’s success. She is lucky and it’s refreshing to hear her say that rather than go on and on about her journey her process all her hard work etc. She does work hard but so do other people who struggle. So I like her even more now for acknowledging she is lucky. So much of success is continuing to show up and so much of it is just luck, who your parents, are – some of us have to overcome our parents and if you don’t have that hurdle you’re already at the 50 yard line when the rest of us are in the locker room. It sounds like she has a good Mom. Lucky her. I’m seriously happy for her.
Is she shy? I don’t know. I think fame does make people more guarded. Look at the idiots running around punching random people in the face. It would terrify me to be famous especially a famous woman with all these stalker wing nuts out there.
I feel very neutral towards her. I’ve never really forgotten the “antebellum lifestyle” blog thing. That said, it’s not true she has kept her face. She’s very obviously had a nose job and upper bleph/an eye lift, at a minimum if you see old pics of her compared to now. I think she’s fine. She looks like every girl in college who had a nature boyfriend and was in a sorority with those Moosejaw stickers and twee stickers that said like ‘Explore’ and ‘Stay Wild’ on their car/Sigg water bottle to me, lol.
Lol okay I stand corrected. I did not know she did anything to her face. I didn’t watch Gossip Girl so she’s on my radar more recently. I guess I should have said I like that she doesn’t have that Real Housewife face – the overfilled lips etc. They’re all starting to look like blow up dolls. She doesn’t have that blow up doll look. I didn’t forget the antebellum comments either – maybe I’m wrong – it sort of reminds me of Jennifer Gardner’s Karenish moment at a party where she’s asking about ancestry- to me there’s Karenish behavior that comes from a clueless place and Karenish behavior that comes from a malicious and spiteful place. She is the former. I’ll probably get slammed for saying that, but, having lived int he South where I dealt overwhelmingly with the latter, there’s a huge difference, at least to me there is. *ducks and runs*
First – she’s not blonde. Yes when she was younger but now she’s older, she has light brown hair that she dyes.
Second – She’s a TV movie of the week actress. If they had movie of the week anymore….
She’s a blonde. She may also lighten her hair (and why not), but if you’ve had the same colour for ages, it’s okay to refer to her as a blonde (I’m thinking Gwen Stefanie here: also known as a blonde, even thought it’s not her colour).
I think there is a Venn diagram somewhere that has movie star in one circle and brilliant actor in the other. And there are some (a few) people who occupy the rare space in the middle, but not all. I understand the profile’s point about her star quality, and I think she’s a good actress. Not everybody needs to be the next coming of Liz Taylor.
Thank you Emme, Mandy and other more positive respondents! I think she’s great, talented and beautiful. Happily married to Ryan Reynolds, four gorgeous children, those looks – of course she has haters! Why not spread the love, the world can be a hateful enough place as it is!
@LC Agree. I’m sure some of them would love to be as unattractive and unaccomplished as her. I don’t get the hate. Blake just keeps winning.
I just don’t understand the hate! Maybe cuz I’m from Europe and grew up watching GG, I love her fashion! She’s not perfectly symmetrical beautiful, she just has that je ne sais quoi! Her fashion is original and surprising, I love it! I don’t get you gals on this one!
You perfectly captured her essence. I think she sometimes wears some cute outfits, but that’s the extent of her appeal . Even her cutesy online jabs at her husband are getting old.
Someone upstream wrote that she’s celebrated mediocrity. That’s what brings out the hate on her. We all know how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get work in this industry, so watching someone who doesn’t bring much to the table in terms of acting creativity, grates on the nerves of the audience. She’ll be fine. Her husband is almost a billionaire ffs.
It would’ve nice been to see a Greta Lee on a Vogue cover!! She has immeasurable style and was Oscar nominated
She has all the ingredients to be successful. If she weren’t a success, I think that would actually be weirder. You’re 5’10”, beautiful, and come from a showbiz family – yeah, you should not fail
at life haha.
Being married to Ryan Reynolds, having four children, and her desire to make mocktails and bake probably slowed down her career a bit slightly. But I think she wanted a quieter life to some extent while still working to maintain work-life balance with 4 kids.