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• Blake Lively: 'I Grew Up at Disneyland'

  posted by Rebecca - Thu Nov 5 2009, 7:00 AM PST

  celebs: Blake Lively
  topics: Hotties

  Blake Lively strikes a sexy pose in a Bottega Veneta bikini and cardigan on the cover of Marie Claire's December issue. Mark Abrahams/Marie Claire Since Blake Lively is the epitome of a California girl looks-wise, it doesn't sound all that far-fetched when she says she feels as if she "grew up at Disneyland." But the 22-year-old "Gossip Girl" is far too sexy to star in any Disney flicks.
  
  Rebecca Miller, who directed her in the upcoming movie "The Private Lives of Pippa Lee" -- where Lively plays young troubled runaway Pippa Lee to Robin Wright Penn's adult Pippa -- interviewed the actress for Marie Claire's December issue, where they discuss her challenging new role, her love of fried foods, and Disneyland.
  
  On Lively's first day on the set of my new film, she was exhausted, having arrived at 7 a.m. after working until 3 a.m. on the pop-culture soap-smash "Gossip Girl" the night before. The fact that her first scene in the movie would entail hysterical tears and a climactic fight with her bipolar mother, played by the powerful Maria Bello, seemed to faze her only slightly at the time, though internally, it seems, it was another story ...
  
  See More Pictures of Blake Lively
  
  What was your first day like on "Pippa" working with Maria Bello, who played your pill-popping mother? You had to face that tornado...
  "I was honestly terrified. I hadn't slept that much, and all I wanted that day was for Maria to say, 'Wow, great job.' And when she didn't say anything to me, I thought, Oh, my gosh, I'm terrible. She hates it. She's calling her agent, saying, 'What have you gotten me into?' "

  Va-va-va-voom! Blake wears head-to-toe Chanel. Mark Abrahams/Marie Claire

  Maria was in character all day that day ...
  "But once we finished filming, she was so complimentary and sweet. The way Maria worked was very method, and then [co-star] Julianne Moore was the complete opposite -- between takes, she was a nice, normal mom talking about her kid's baseball games. Then you would call 'Action,' and suddenly she's playing this creepo photographer! It freaked me out."
  
  One of the remarkable things about you is your ability to imagine yourself in situations that are much bleaker than what you've experienced in your own life.
  "As a character, I get to be this wild, outgoing person that I'm so not. I think it all comes from being the youngest of five. I was always observing my siblings and hearing stories about their lives that turned out to be helpful as an actress."
  
  Lively's father moved the family from Georgia to LA when he was cast in the pilot of "The Dukes of Hazzard." (He would later play her father in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2").

  The "Gossip Girl" models a Marc Jacobs jacket ($1,400) and shorts ($395). Mark Abrahams/Marie Claire

  Do you think of yourself as Southern, even though you grew up in LA? I think there's a Southern girl lurking in you.
  "I grew up in LA, but I was the only one in my family born there. I have a tight-knit Southern family, so whenever I tell people I'm from LA, they say, 'Yeah, but you don't count,' I guess because of the Southern values I was raised with, and the way I eat -- the more sugary and cheesy and fried, the better."

  Blake Lively's style">
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  Did you ever study acting?
  "Well, my parents taught an acting class when I was growing up, and because I never had a babysitter, I would end up at [the classes]. When I got older, I knew all the drills so well that I felt fine getting up on stage. Without them, I'd still probably be hiding under my mom's skirt."
  
  Lively's mother, whom she describes as "loving," "dynamic," and "a prankster," has had an enormous influence on her daughter, and they remain very close.
  
  What's your first memory?
  "Oh, geez, I remember I was about 3 years old, and I woke up -- we were staying at Disneyland. I was in a little pink silk bed, and there were Mickey and Donald and Goofy looking down at me. It was the most exciting place in the world. I kind of feel like I grew up at Disneyland."

  Blake covers up in a Brooks Brothers button down shirt. Mark Abrahams/Marie Claire

  What do you mean, you grew up in Disneyland?
  "My mom would take me there twice a week. I did well in school, so I guess my mom just wanted to have some extra time to bond with me. Sometimes, when I was older, she'd keep me out until one in the morning."
  
  She would take you out of school and keep you out till 1 in the morning? "We only stayed out late on weekends. We'd get a hotel room and then go to Denny's, drink coffee, and talk for hours. I've always been a night owl. Even at home, we'd stay up all night talking. My mom tells the most amazing stories. In a way, she was kind of raising me to be a great actress without even realizing it."
  
  Read more of Blake Lively's interview, or pick up the December issue of Marie Claire, on newsstands now.

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