- “Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite... And who am I? That's one secret I'll never tell. You know you love me. XOXO, Gossip Girl.”
Gossip Girl is the anonymous, unseen narrator of the Gossip Girl television series and the novels of the same name. In both the novels and the television adaption, Gossip Girl is a blogger whose true identity is never revealed. It is later ultimately revealed in the television series finale to be Dan Humphrey, although Georgina Sparks and Serena van der Woodsen both have times where they take over the blog. Gossip Girl is voiced by Kristen Bell.
Despite the gossip site's shutdown in the finale, in the five year time jump, it is revealed that a new blogger has assumed the mantle of Gossip Girl.
Overview
Gossip Girl runs a blog documenting the lives of Manhattan's elite, or the wealthy teenagers residing on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Posted on the blog are gossip, a "Spotted" map to keep track of frequently mentioned people, photos, and party invitations.
Like most major gossip sites, Gossip Girl relies on tips sent in by people who have any information to give. In The Goodbye Gossip Girl, Jonathan Whitney hacks into the server and is able to find who has been sending what tips in. Later on, Nate Archibald creates a website where people can look up Gossip Girl's sources, although it gets taken down quickly (All the Pretty Sources).
Until the finale, the only other character to know the identity of Gossip Girl was Jenny Humphrey. In an interview, Penn Badgley admitted he didn't know he was Gossip Girl until he read the finale script.
Novel Series
In the novels, Gossip Girl was very similar to how she is portrayed in the television adaptation. The main difference is her identity is never revealed.
Identity
Seasons 1-4
During the first five seasons, Gossip Girl's identity is never identified. In the season two finale The Goodbye Gossip Girl, Serena attempts to track her down on the night of graduation. However, Gossip Girl outplays her and has everyone from Constance Billard/St. Jude's meet, where she reveals in a blast that they are truly Gossip Girl; as she wouldn't have anything to write about if people didn't send in tips.
Season Five
In Riding in Town Cars With Boys, Gossip Girl sends a blast revealing that Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass are together; despite Blair being engaged to Louis Grimaldi. That night, Blair and Chuck are involved in a horrific car accident, which leads to Chuck nearly dying and Blair losing her unborn baby. After this, Gossip Girl abandons her site, only to have it picked up by a new user.
In G.G., it's revealed that Georgina has taken over the site and is posting as Gossip Girl herself. Soon after, in Crazy Cupid Love, Dan figures out that Georgina is Gossip Girl and threatens to expose her. Not wanting to be exposed, she agrees to not release a photo of Dan kissing Blair. In The Princess Dowry, Dan outs Georgina to Blair and Chuck, and she does each of them favors to earn one in return in case the secret ever got out. Afterwards, Georgina sends the laptop with the admin site access to Serena, along with a note encouraging her to take over.
Serena then takes over the site and begins to enjoy running it. However, her cousin, Lola Rhodes, suspects that she is Gossip Girl and attempts to out her. In Salon of the Dead, she realizes that Serena is Gossip Girl but keeps the secret to herself. She eventually tells Nate, who doesn't say anything either. Meanwhile, Diana Payne agrees to help Serena blackmail the real Gossip Girl into letting her keep the site. However, this doesn't work and Nate and Lola help the real Gossip Girl get the laptop back after seeing Serena ruin her friendships while running the site. In The Fugitives, the real Gossip Girl begins posting again.
Season Six
In the series finale, New York, I Love You XOXO, Dan reveals that he was Gossip Girl all along. He reasons that he did so in an attempt to write himself into the world of the Upper East Side. After he explains everything, he confesses that Gossip Girl is now dead and they can all move on with their lives.
In the time jump, it's revealed that a new high school student that bears a resemblance to Dan has taken over as the "new" Gossip Girl.
Trivia
- Gossip Girl is arguably the true main antagonist of the series.
- In season four, Gossip Girl added the ability to livestream on the site.
- Kristen Bell voices Gossip Girl during every episode of the series, including the ones where the identity of Gossip Girl changes characters.
- There are only a few episodes where Gossip Girl doesn't do a voiceover in the beginning of the episode.
- In Pilot, Gossip Girl thanks Melanie91 for sending in a tip but after this episode, it becomes important to keep the identity of tip senders hidden.
- Nate, Lily van der Woodsen, and Rufus Humphrey are the only main characters to never send a tip in to her.
- In the original cut of Pilot, an audience who got an early screening says it was too obvious that Dan was Gossip Girl. As a result, the editors worked to change how it came across.
- Gossip Girl also reports on the other major private schools in the area but mainly focuses on Constance/St. Jude's.