Happy 29th birthday Blake Lively – 10 things you didn't know about The Shallows actress

Blake Lively turns 29-years-old tomorrow (25 August) and while the American actress is best known for her star turn in hit TV show Gossip Girl, there's more to Lively than meets the eye.

For instance, did you know she's a self-confessed foodie, is BFFs with Florence & The Machine's Florence Welch and appeared in a music video for Andy Samberg's band The Lonely Island entitled I Just Had Sex? IBTimes UK counts down 10 facts about her, some of which may just surprise you.

10. Lively's first major role – as a jobbing actress – was in comedy-drama The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants which saw her star alongside America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel. Three years later, in 2008, she reprised her role as Bridget Vreeland in the film's sequel.

9. She's a self-confessed foodie who loves to cook. Her biggest influences in the kitchen include Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson and she even attended a tailor-made food workshop at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris to whip her skills into shape.

8. Back when she was on Gossip Girl, Lively's salary was $60,000 per episode. She played Serena van der Woodsen on the popular teen TV series, epitomising the NYC Upper East Side 'It girl'.

7. In 2010, she appeared in The Lonely Island's I Just Had Sex music video alongside Jessica Alba and Akon (who performed on the song).

6. In that same year, Lively met actor Ryan Reynolds while filming superhero movie Green Lantern and the pair began dating. After buying a house in New York in June 2012, the couple got married in South Carolina on 9 September 2012.

5. Her favourite musicians include Ray Charles, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake while her favourite designer labels are Marc Jacobs, 3.1 Phillip Lim, Chloé and Chanel. Her personal style icons are Kate Moss, Sienna Miller and Audrey Hepburn.

4. Lively is good friends with Taylor Swift and Florence Welch from Florence And The Machine, the latter of which performed at hers and Reynolds' wedding.

3. She has one child with Deadpool star Reynolds; a daughter named James, born in December 2014. The couple are expecting their second child after announcing that Lively was pregnant again back in April.

2. Lively has fronted three movies: Elvis And Anabelle and The Age Of Adaline and recent release The Shallows. In the latter, she plays Nancy, a surfer who travels to a secluded beach one day to check out the waves. However, she winds up caught in the feeding ground of a great white shark despite being just 200 yards from shore. Her performance in the thriller has earned her wide critical acclaim.

1. She will next be seen on the big screen in drama-thriller All I See Is You opposite Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes actor Jason Clarke. In the film she plays Gina, a blind woman whose sight returns only for her marriage to become strained and take a dark turn.

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