From the coming-of-age classic “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” in 2005 to her latest romance drama, “It Ends With Us,” in theaters Friday (August 9), Blake Lively’s star power has been on the rise for the past 20 years. But Blake is not the only star in her famous orbit. And we’re not even talking about .
Long before she and Reynolds began their love story, Lively was surrounded by Hollywood talent in the form of her parents and four siblings. Read on to learn all about her star-studded family, particularly her older sisters, Lori and Robyn Lively, and brothers Jason and Eric Lively. The entertainment industry runs in the Lively blood.
Mother to all five of the Lively kids, Elaine Lively is a talent manager. She had Lori, Jason and Robyn with her first husband, Ronnie Lively. After their divorce, Elaine married Ernie Brown, an actor, director and acting coach who took her last name and became Ernie Lively.
The couple then welcomed Eric and Blake together. Ernie at the age of 74; Ronnie died in 2023 at the age of 80, according to his . Blake’s eldest half sister, Lori Lively, was born in 1966 and has been a working actor since her first big-screen role in the 1979 mystery “The Double McGuffin.
” In addition to filling her résumé with one-off television credits, including spots on “ER,” “Two and a Half Men,” “Cold Case” and “The Mentalist,” Lori starred with Blake and Eric in the 1998 film “Sandman,” directed by Ernie. Behind the lens, Lori has branched out into production design and followed in her stepfather’s footsteps by becoming an acting coach. Jason Lively, Blake’s big half brother, was born in 1968, and like Lori, he kicked off his own entertainment career in 1979.
His very first onscreen credit was for an episode of “The Dukes of Hazzard.” Later, Jason guest-starred on several series and memorably took over for Anthony Michael Hall in the role of Russell “Rusty” Griswold in the 1985 film “National Lampoon’s European Vacation.” Jason also lent his voice to the 1993 video game “Return to Zork,” which was another family affair: His mother and stepfather, as well as sisters Lori and Robyn, had voice roles in the production, too.
Married to Lani Lively, Jason and his wife have three sons, who often make cameos on his . Robyn Lively was bit by the acting bug early. Born in 1972, she was just 6 when her first movie, “Summer of My German Soldier,” hit TV screens.
As for the big screen, you can see her in cult favorites like “Teen Witch” and “The Karate Kid Part III,” both released in 1989. Also a series star, the Daytime Emmy-nominated actress landed a leading role in the late-’90s prime-time soap “Savannah.” Smaller roles included stints on “Chicago Hope,” “Twin Peaks” and “Doogie Howser, M.
D.,” which she posted about on in 2023. She’s also guest-starred on dozens of hit shows like “Hawaii Five-0,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” “Cobra Kai” and “The Affair.
” Despite a 16-year difference in her and Blake’s ages, Robyn considers her younger half sister to be her “best friend,” a bond she’s gushed over on , as well as in a 2022 interview. “There’s a significant age gap which feels almost nonexistent because (Blake’s) now a mom,” Robyn told . “We have so many similarities.
Our relationship is on a deeper level. We used to help each other with our projects and lines, things like that. Now we’re doing the mom thing together.
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I genuinely feel like her children are mine as if I gave birth to them, and vice versa.” As for Robyn’s kids, she has three with her husband, “High School Musical” alum Bart Johnson. The youngest of Blake’s older siblings, brother Eric Lively, was born in 1981 and holds a special distinction among the Lively bunch.
The actor, who’s appeared in movies including “American Pie,” “Uprising” and “A Madea Christmas,” gets credit for convincing Blake to join the family business. “He’s the one who got me into acting,” she told magazine in 2010. When she was still a teen, Eric suggested film producing to Blake.
But eventually, he led her to her true calling. “I did want to be an actor because my whole family did it — going into the family business was the last thing I wanted to do,” she shared. “But then about a year later he was running lines with his friend and he talked me into going to this audition,” she added.
“I just did the first one to be nice because he was always so great to me, but then I ended up going to a few more auditions. I didn’t have an agent. I would just write down that I was with my brother’s agency, and then the agency would get calls and say that they had no idea who I was.
But after a few auditions, I got ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,’ which was my first job.” Ree Hines is a freelance writer and editor who covers pop culture, lifestyle stories and trending news. She’s also a soul-music loving, coffee-obsessed member of both Team Cat and Team Dog.
Ree lives in Tampa, Florida, and is a regular contributor to TODAY.com..
