Vanessa Marigold Abrams is a fictional character in the Gossip Girl novel series. She is portrayed by Jessica Szohr in the television adaptation. Vanessa was introduced on the first season as a recurring character, but became a series regular after a successful run due to the popularity of her character. She left the series at the end of the fourth season.
Novel series Vanessa Marigold Abrams is a filmmaker. She is the younger daughter of two older alternative hippie artists, Arlo and Gabriela Abrams. She lives in a Williamsburg, Brooklyn apartment with her older sister Rudy and Ruby’s parrot, named Tofu.
Vanessa attends Constance Billard School for Girls, where she is a true exception (or an anomaly, as she calls herself in the first book, since unlike her classmates, she cares little about her appearance or social events. Rebellious, nonconformist and provocative, she even shaves her head in tenth grade in order to set herself apart from the other students, girls she refuses to socialize with and who, to her great annoyance, constantly gush over her stunning black hair. She read Tolstoy's War and Peace over and over like it was the Bible, listens to Belle and Sebastian and Gregorian chants and drinks unsweetened black tea.
During her teenage years, she adopts a punk aesthetic (shaved head, black turtlenecks, upper-lip piercing, and steel-toed Doc Martens)), accompanied by a hostile attitude and a constant stream of sarcasm, behavior that stands in stark contrast to the glamorous, well-mannered heroines of the series. But this is, of course, only a façade meant to conceal her insecurities, hiding a sensitive and generous nature underneath.
Vanessa is also the founder of Constance Billard’s students-run arts magazine, Rancor). In book 7, she becomes Blair Waldorf’s new roommate and it appears that the young socialite’s personality begins to rub off on the rebel: Vanessa starts wearing colors, paying more attention to her appearance, and opening up to the world with newfound warmth. She even begins a brief romance with Blair’s stepbrother, Aaron Rose.
During her senior year, a renowned alternative filmmaker, Ken Mogul, notices her work and offers to screen one of her short films at the fashion show of a famous designer (Jedediah Angel) during New York Fashion Week. Later, he even hires her as an assistant director on one of his shoots. On graduation day, she received from her headmaster the Georgia O'Keeffe Award for Creative excellence, a prestigious prize recognizing the outstanding creative achievements of a Constance Billard School for Girls student.
From the very beginning of the series, we learn that Vanessa is deeply and secretly in love with her best friend, Daniel Humphrey, whom she met two years earlier at a party where they both ended up locked outside. During their senior year, the two begin a romantic relationship, though it proves unstable, marked by numerous breakups and reconciliations.
Initially intimidated by Serena — whose place in Dan’s heart she envies — Vanessa eventually gets to know her and becomes one of her friends. At the same time, she forms a close friendship with Jenny Humphrey, with whom she collaborates on the Rancor magazine.
After high school, Vanessa enrolls at New York University, where she studies film for four years and eventually lets her hair grow out again. Her boyfriend at the time gives her a small dog — Norma Desmond, half chow-chow, half poodle — whom she adopts as her pet. Meanwhile, her sister Ruby marries Piotr, a Czech painter, and they have a daughter named Moxie.
During her final year of university, Vanessa has been offered a fellowship by Filmmakers for Change, allowing her to travel to Indonesia for a film project for 2 years. By the end of the series, Dan and Vanessa realize they still love each other and finally confess it.
Vanessa has fair skin, red lips and large hazel eyes; she is slim but has a bit of softness around her stomach, some fat on her hips and slightly chubby thighs. She has four large brown moles behind one ear, highly arched feet and alternates between a shaved head and long, sleek, jet-black hair. She gets her upper lip pierced on her eighteenth birthday.
Television series
Casting After a recurring role in the short-lived series What About Brian, Yahoo! stated her "capitalizing on that minor success" and eventually earned the role of "the stunning and unpredictable aspiring filmmaker ensconced in the highly dramatic lives of privileged teenagers on Manhattan's Upper East Side world". Szohr began her stint on Gossip Girl in a recurring role until her promotion to regular status in the show's fourteenth episode. Szohr said in Nylon magazine: Producers originally didn’t want to cast her on Gossip Girl because her straight, shiny hair was too preppy. "I told my agent, you send every picture of my hair short, curly, black, blonde, I don’t care." In Teen Vogue, she said the story of how she snagged her breakthrough role on Gossip Girl: "Two of my friends in L.A. invited me to this Labor Day barbecue, but I really just wanted to stay on the couch with my French bulldog," she says. "I remember hanging out by the pool in an old T-shirt and jean shorts, just talking to people. Three days later, my manager calls to tell me that I'd been with the show's executive producer and one of the creators and they want me to audition." Less than a week after that, Jessica was on her way to New York.
Characterization Szohr's character enters the wealthy world of Manhattan and occasional love interest of her longtime best friend, Dan Humphrey. People magazine cites her television portrayal of her character especially Ziegesar saying that Vanessa on the show "has more of a bohemian hipster look". During an interview for Ocean Drive magazine Szohr commented on her character's noted honesty, stating that "Vanessa doesn't change for other people. She says what she thinks, and that's a hard thing to do in high school[...] she’s just a badass girl from Brooklyn". Szohr finds her character as the most relatable series since Vanessa doesn't have the same lifestyle as most of the other wealthy characters on the show do. During an interview for Vanity Fair, Eric Daman described Vanessa's style as "a breath of fresh air. She’s the Lower East Side, Raising Victor Vargas home-girl." and cited two-time Grammy award-winning artist M.I.A. as an influence.
Season 1 Vanessa is officially introduced in the sixth episode of the season, entitled "The Handmaiden's Tale." While talking on the phone with Dan, she appears on his fire escape and the two gladly reunite. She announces that she's decided to move back to the city and live with her sister, Ruby. She also mentions that she missed Dan while she was away and has repeatedly thought about the last words he said to her before she moved to Vermont. Vanessa helps Dan's younger sister, Jenny Humphrey, sneak into a masquerade ball, and she decides to sneak in herself, where she spots Dan and attempts to reconcile their relationship. It is then revealed that Dan's last words to Vanessa were "I love you," but despite this fact, Dan says that he's moved on and is dating Serena. Vanessa gets teary-eyed and abandons the party, however the two friends make up later in Dan's bedroom. They share a snack while Dan fills her in on everything that's changed in his life.
In " Victor/Victrola," Vanessa acts as a mentor for Jenny, giving the young blond some advice about parental issues. She seems to express some jealousy when she stumbles in on Dan and Serena about to have sex. However, in the next episode, she and Serena bond over Guitar Hero after Dan explains that Vanessa is his best friend and that the two will always share a special bond from their childhood. Later, Serena and Vanessa engage in conversation and get to know each other better. On Christmas Day, Serena feels a bit jealous when Vanessa gets Dan the perfect present (by publishing his short story in The New Yorker). Vanessa makes a rival out of Blair Waldorf when Blair suspects her of liking Dan as 'more than a friend.' Despite her suspicions, Vanessa helps Serena create the only thing Dan wanted for Christmas – snow.
In "School Lies," Vanessa accompanies Dan to a pool party on school property. Someone nearly dies at the party, however, and when Vanessa catches a confidential conversation between Chuck and Blair on camera, it becomes the most sought-after item on the Upper East Side. Chuck tries to bribe Vanessa into giving her the tape, but she tricks him and takes his money anyway. When Blair asks for the tape, Vanessa concedes without any conditions attached hoping that Blair would stop antagonizing her. Despite this, Blair pays Vanessa's rent for a year to thank her for giving up the tape, which would have ruined Blair's reputation.
When the SATs roll around, Vanessa helps Dan with his studying. This leads to her official introduction to Nate Archibald. The two bicker and banter light-heartedly, but when Vanessa finds a practice essay Nate wrote for the SATs, she sees a more vulnerable side to him. The two spend the day together and Vanessa listens to his problems. Despite their coming from different worlds, they realize they have a lot in common and end the night with a kiss. The next day, Nate takes Vanessa on a 'surprise date' where he tells her she should take the SATs just to ensure that she has options. He pays and registers for her, and after finally giving in, the two enter into a relationship. When she finds out that Georgina Sparks is not who she says she is, Vanessa confronts her and says she knows her real name, as well as her intentions. Despite this fact, Georgina escapes with Dan, who continues to believe the lies she tells him.
In the season finale, "Much 'I Do About Nothing" Vanessa prepares for Lily and Bart Bass's wedding. Once she's all dressed up in one of Jenny's designs, Dan tells her that she 'cleans up nice,' before the two proceed to the wedding together. After the ceremony, Nate, burdened by the myriad of problems with his father, tells Vanessa he's not ready to be in a relationship, and the two break up. Later, Vanessa and Dan's friendship grows as they bond over their break-ups.
Season 2 Vanessa spends the summer redecorating Rufus's art gallery and turning the extra space into a cafe. Nate confides in her the financial circumstances of his father's debts and although the two seem interested in each other, Nate is continuously too busy to hang out with her. Vanessa pushes him away because of this, but he confesses that he does want a relationship with her. During a citywide blackout, however, the older woman Nate slept with throughout the summer, Catherine, threatens to turn Nate's father in to the police if Nate ever leaves her. Vanessa sacrifices her relationship with Nate for the Captain's safety and tells Nate she doesn't want to be with him. Later, Vanessa snaps a photo of Catherine when she sees the older woman making out with her stepson, hoping to use it as blackmail. She learns the consequences of her meddling, however, when she realizes that telling Catherine's husband of her affairs left Nate as penniless as ever, whereas Blair was going to gain back the Archibald's riches. Nate becomes upset with Vanessa, not because she made him lose the money, but because she never confided in him.