Why do you think she's been "off TV"?

She had numerous opportunities after the show ended that didn't really take off from a commercial standpoint. Quite a few films that didn't do well commercially. Since that didn't work she's been trying for a music career which isn't working out either. So she will be back to the TV screen in 2017 with Making History a show on Fox.

It makes me scratch my head though. Most of the actors/actresses off of Gossip Girl were popular and yet the only one who was able to take advantage and remain relevant was Blake Lively. I thought it would be Leighton, to be honest.

I feel like this happens a lot though, one person from a show will get crazy popular afterward and the rest will disappear or only appear in a couple random things...Blake Lively had connections Leighton M didn't have, and she was part of a successful movie franchise before GG even started. She also has the tall, sexy blonde thing going for her and she was willing to build her career on roles that basically traded on her sexuality, which not all actresses want to do--which is fine, that career path is not for everyone. (And yes, I know she's moved into more serious stuff recently--good for her) Also, I feel bad saying this, but LM didn't age well. She was insanely gorgeous at the beginning of Gossip Girl but that only made it more obvious how quickly she lost that. That's just my opinion though, and she's obviously still well above average in looks by anyone's standards, but you need to be more than just above average to have a career like Blake's, I think. Hollywood is shallow.

I think your comments regarding Blake Lively are a little bit unfair.

Is not her fault that she was cast on a movie franchise almost 4 years BEFORE Gossip Girl ...plus that movie is far from being extremely popular, most people never heard of it.

Second, what kind of "roles that basically traded on her sexuality" you are talking about? I only saw her doing that once with Savages, if you are talking about The Shallows, well, her character is a surfer, what could she do? Run to the water in a nun's outfit?

That's very unfair, guys can take their shirt off in every movie and nobody makes that kind of comments, just take a look @ Zac Efron's carrer, he's basically doing the same character since 2013 (hot guy that get shirtless) and nobody seems to care (LOL he's doing Baywatch next year).

And FYI, I'm a man.

Also, regarding opportunities, Blake and Leighton both had a lot of opportunities during Gossip Girl - more than all the boys together, just look at the movies they did while on the show, Leighton work with Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hugh Laurie, Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and her only big budget movie after GG was with Robert Downey Jr., Vera Farmiga and Robert Duvall!

I don't think this has anything to do with connections, Leighton also had that kind of thing. Blake was MIA from december 2012 until january 2014 when she start working on Adaline, she did a bunch of back to back movies last year after her daughter was born and promote then this year, now she's taking a break because he just had another baby, that's not very different from Leighton.

Regarding Leighton's career choices, well, she did a bunch of back-to-back movies after Gossip Girl, did a Broadway play and release an album, she got married, had a kid and take a break, to be honest her career was doing fine until this new show, I don't know what the hell she's thinking with that, I doubt Making History will survive to tell even the original 13 episodes order, the trailer is awful, the synopsis is awful. I have ZERO idea on WHY she choose to do this pilot, I'm pretty sure her own name can get her some better things during Pilot Season, she's far from being a nobody.

She should also stay in the Indie circle because she was getting a lot of praise for her work on movies like Life Partners and Like Sunday, Like Rain.