The star of The CW's new hit show Gossip Girl — about the glamorous lives of teens in New York City's ritzy Upper East Side — is back for this summer's second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants film.
How different is California, where you were raised, from the Upper East Side?
Oh, it's like night and day. I went to football games on Friday nights. When we had a weeknight off, after school, we would go to school fund raisers. When these kids have a night off, they sip martinis at the Palace Hotel.
Do screaming teenagers approach you all the time?
We shot on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and I think there were about 600 kids. It was in the middle of a school day — I don't know how they left school! It was very surreal.
You're the last of your Pants co-stars to land a TV show. Were you just waiting for yours to come along?
Definitely not. I had no clue this project would come along so soon, but I'm so thrilled I did it. America [Ferrera] feels the same about Ugly Betty.
Ferrera has won just about every award out there. Does she give you advice?
All of the [co-stars] have such an incredible bond. They are giving me advice on everything — from what kind of dog food to buy to how many hours of sleep I need in a night.