Celia "Cecily" Rhodes (née Fitzgerald) is a recurring character in the Gossip Girl television adaptation. She is the mother of Carol Rhodes and Lily van der Woodsen and grandmother to Serena and Eric van der Woodsen, Chuck Bass, Scott Rosson and Lola Rhodes.
Television Series
Background
Cecily resided in Montecito, California before moving into her Hamptons house when she became sick. She was the chairwoman of the debutante balls on the Upper East Side for fifteen years. She was previously married to Rick Rhodes, and the two lived with their daughters Carol and Lily in both New York City, New York and Montecito, California.
Season One
Cecily makes her first appearance in Hi, Society, when she visits town to attend Serena's Cotillion and Debutante Ball. Upon arriving, she is disappointed to learn that not only is Serena not planning to attend the ball, she is also dating the son of Lily's former boyfriend, Rufus Humphrey. That evening, she tells Lily that her doctor found something in her lungs and she might be very sick. Upset, Lily agrees right away to make Serena attend the ball. After Serena agrees to go, Cecily tries to convince her to go with Carter Baizen instead of Dan Humphrey. She tells off Dan, which only encourages him to tell Serena that he will escort her. After he does so, she tries to bribe Rufus into making sure Dan doesn't go. He refuses, and tells Dan what she did. He tells Serena, who doesn't believe him; and they decide not to go to the ball together. At the ball, Serena learns from Carter that Cecily set it up for them to of together weeks ago; and that she isn't really sick. She confronts Cecily, who admits she lied about maybe being sick to make sure Serena went.
Season Two
In the premiere Summer Kind of Wonderful, CeCe realizes that Dan is good for Serena and helps him attend the White Party to win her back. When Bart Bass dies, CeCe comes to town to attend the funeral with the VDW's. On the day of, she follows Lily to the park and realizes she's rekindling her relationship with Rufus. At the funeral reception, CeCe is contacted by Bass PI Andrew Tyler, trying to get her to pay him to keep quit about the real reason Lily was in a French hospital. She tells Lily that she paid him off, but Lily soon learns that she never paid him anything. Before she leaves town, she informs Rufus that Lily had his baby and then gave it up for adoption (O Brother, Where Bart Thou?).
In Valley Girls, CeCe arrives back in town after Serena calls her while in jail. Annoyed at her mother, Lily tells CeCe to leave and never come back. Later, she realizes this was the wrong thing to do and makes up with her mother. In the same episode, flashbacks are shown to Lily and CeCe's past in California. It details when Lily was kicked out of her boarding school in Santa Barbara; and she did so in the hopes of getting to live with her dad. When she meets him for lunch, she learns he asked CeCe to come, and it's quickly seen that the exes are not on good terms. After the lunch ends, CeCe heads home and doesn't hear from Lily again until she learns she was arrested while with her sister Carol.
Season Three
In Dan de Fleurette, Lily arrives back to the city after spending all summer with CeCe, who is supposedly suffering from cancer. On Thanksgiving in The Treasure of Serena Madre, Rufus surprises Lily by inviting CeCe to dinner. At the dinner, CeCe accidentally messes up the lie about where Lily was during the summer and Rufus becomes suspicious. Soon after, Rufus learns that while Lily was supposedly gone with CeCe, she was actually with her ex husband William van der Woodsen (The Debarted). After Rufus and Lily make up, CeCe calls to tell her that it's time to check back in with William. Lily agrees to get on the next flight, but lies to Rufus that she's headed to Canyon Ranch to be with CeCe (The Sixteen Year Old Virgin). While she's gone, Rufus tries to call her at the spa but finds that she hasn't been there at all. He then call CeCe to find out where she is, but all CeCe says is that she isn't with Lily but can't say where she has been (The Unblairable Lightness of Being).
Season Five
In Rhodes to Perdition, CeCe comes to New York to attend a Studio 54 party in her honor. While visiting, she becomes faint and only Charlie/Ivy sees and learns she's on medication. Before the party, she faints and Charlie lies that she was dieting to look good for the party. Grateful, CeCe plays along and later thanks her for her discretion. CeCe returns to the city in The Kids Stay in the Picture to support Lily, who is awaiting her sentence for obstruction of justice and forgery. While in town, she also asks Carol to come, and the women plan to be photographed in the upcoming Modern Royalty book. However, the book cancels their photo due to the scandal, much to Lily's disappointment. William is able to call in a favor to get them back in, but things get all messed up when the editor assumes he wants to be in the book himself with his children. After things unravel, the family takes a photo together the next day at the penthouse.
In Crazy Cupid Love, Ivy Dickens returns to the city to try and tell Lily something important. However, she gets pulled into different situations that prevent her from seeing her. After she fails, she returns to the Hamptons and it's revealed she is living there with a nurse and a dying CeCe. Soon after in Cross Rhodes, CeCe's condition takes a turn for the worse and begins to have trouble breathing. After being airlifted to hospital, CeCe is surrounded by her family, though they are all surprised to learn that she is ill at all. Once everyone is together, the truth about Ivy's identity comes out when the real Charlotte "Lola" Rhodes and Ivy come face to face. This revelation creates major problems for the Rhodes sisters, and they force Ivy to leave the hospital. Meanwhile, CeCe has a stroke before surgery and the family is escorted into her room to say their final goodbyes. This is her last appearance in the series.
Soon after, Lily learns CeCe planned her own wake and the plans were carried out. While it goes on, she, Carol, Serena, and Ivy learn that William is the executor of her estate and will be reading the will. However, all are shocked to learn that CeCe left everything to Ivy Dickens; proving she knew she wasn't Charlie after all (The Princess Dowry). Lily and Carol refuse to accept their mother's wishes, and plot to scam Ivy out of her inheritance, agreeing to split their mother's estate equally between them. They successfully get the court to invalidate the will but before they can finish the paperwork, Lily learns that Carol and William had an affair while they were still married; and he is Lola's father. As revenge, she sets up Carol to be arrested for using Ivy to steal her daughter's trust fund. William, not trusting Lily will use the whole estate to make sure Lola is taken care of, decides not to sign Carol's half over to her. He returns it to Lola, who signs it back to Ivy in exchange for her ruining Lily's life.
Family
Television Series
- Richard "Rick" Rhodes (Ex-husband)
- Lillian "Lily" van der Woodsen (Daughter)
- Carol Rhodes (Daughter)
- Serena van der Woodsen (Granddaughter)
- Eric van der Woodsen (Grandson)
- Charlotte "Lola" Rhodes (Granddaughter)
- Charles "Chuck" Bass (Adoptive Grandson)
- Scott Rosson (Biological Grandson; Adopted out of family)
- Daniel "Dan" Humphrey (Grandson-in-law)
Memorable Quotes
"The way you feel? It never goes away. It just gets worse. You'll always use your dessert fork for your entree, you'll always feel underdressed no matter what you wear, and at dinner parties it will be as if you hear a language that sounds like English and you think you speak it but they don't hear you, and you don't understand them. As time passes, you'll feel that people never see you when they look at you but wonder really if you're Serena's whim or her charity case. Until the day comes when you realize that girls like Serena don't end up with Dan Humphrey. They end up with the Carters of the world and um, people like you, they turn into cocktail party anecdotes of their foolish youth." -Hi, Society (1x10)
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"If it was up to your father, they'd stop me at the county line, but Santa Barbara is really only a prison in my mind." -CeCe
"Nice to see you, CeCe." -Rick
"Wish I could say the same, Richard." -Valley Girls (2x24)
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"It was smart of you to turn yourself in so you could make sure your hair was done." -The Kids Stay in the Picture (4x18)
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