Lively achieved stardom with her portrayal of Serena van der Woodsen in the CW teen drama television series Gossip Girl (2007–2012).

During this period, she also took on supporting roles in the romantic comedies New York, I Love You (2008) and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee (2009), as well as in the thrillers The Town (2010) and Savages (2012).

The latter emerged as her biggest box office success, but drew controversy, resulting in a number of lawsuits, including Lively and Baldoni suing each other for defamation.

[31] Lively played Carol Ferris, the female lead and love interest of Hal Jordan in the superhero film Green Lantern, which was released in June 2011.

[36] In 2012, Lively starred in Oliver Stone's Savages alongside Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Salma Hayek, and John Travolta.

HitFix film critic Drew McWeeny said Lively's performance was "smart and sad precisely because she plays O as such a broken, needy little soul".

[45] Lively starred opposite Jason Clarke in psychological drama All I See Is You (2016), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to mixed reviews.

[53] Variety noted Lively's performance as "display[ing] a realistic near-incompetence in the face of danger [that] makes her relatable in ways very few cinematic assassins have ever been.

[57] In April 2022, it was announced Lively would make her feature directing debut with an adaptation of the graphic novel Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley, with Edgar Wright writing the screenplay and producing.

[60][61] During the troubled production of the romantic drama It Ends with Us, Lively filed a complaint with the California Civil Rights Department, alleging she experienced sexual harassment from the film's director and co-star, Justin Baldoni.

[62][63] The New York Times reported that Baldoni then hired a PR crisis management team to "bury" Lively after she confronted him about the alleged harassment.

[63] Documents obtained by Lively via subpoena allegedly showed a coordinated effort, on behalf of Baldoni, to discredit her across both traditional and social media.

"Throughout the filming of It Ends with Us," they stated in one passage, "we saw her summon the courage to ask for a safe workplace for herself and colleagues on set, and we are appalled to read the evidence of a premeditated and vindictive effort that ensued to discredit her voice.

"[65] Actors Gwyneth Paltrow, Amy Schumer, Paul Feig, Jenny Slate, and Brandon Sklenar, and film producer Alex Saks, have also spoken out for Lively,[66][67][68] as have representatives of SAG-AFTRA and Sony Pictures.

[69][70][71] Actresses Kate Beckinsale and Abigail Breslin, both inspired by Lively, spoke out sharing their experiences with a crew member and co-star respectively, who were inappropriate with them on set.

[72][73] In response, Justin Baldoni filed a libel lawsuit for $250 million against The New York Times accusing them of pushing an "unverified and self-serving narrative" using "cherry-picked and altered communications stripped of necessary context," and allegedly ignoring evidence disputing her claims.

[74] The New York Times defended itself: "The role of an independent news organization is to follow the facts where they lead...To date, Wayfarer Studios, Mr. Baldoni, the other subjects of the article and their representatives have not pointed to a single error.

"[77] On January 16, 2025, Baldoni's attorney, Bryan Freedman, told NBC that his client filed a $400 million defamation counter suit against Lively and Reynolds.

[78][79][80] On January 31, Baldoni filed a 168-page timeline of events, including text messages, to support the assertion that Lively had conducted a smear campaign against him.

[85] Lively attended a 2010 tailor-made workshop at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, and has spoken of her desire to return to the culinary school for further instruction.

In 2013, she appeared in Elle Decor to recount her experiences designing a custom La Cornue oven for her newly purchased Bedford home.

[113] Following the civil rights protests in 2020, Lively's husband Reynolds publicly apologized and expressed regret for their usage of the Boone Hall Plantation due to its association with slavery, stating: "What we saw at the time was a wedding venue on Pinterest.

[117] In 2013, she appeared in a video clip for Gucci's "Chime for Change" campaign that aims to raise funds and awareness of women's issues in the areas of education, health, and justice.

[118] In addition, Lively has worked to heighten public awareness of missing and exploited children and on-going efforts of law enforcement on their behalf.