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Penn Badgley
Name: Penn Badgley
DOB: 1 November 1986
Birth Place: Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Claim to fame: Gossip Girl actor
Star Facts
- Penn used to date his Gossip Girl co-star Blake Lively
- He has lent his voice to two Super Mario video games - Mario Golf 64 and Mario Tennis 64
- Penn’s plays piano and guitar and released a single in 1998
- He beat R-Pattz to win the part of cult musician Jeff Buckley in a forthcoming biopic about the tragic star
Biography
Gossip Girl heartthrob Penn began pursuing his acting career at age 11, moving to LA with his family to be closer to the bright lights of Hollywood. He put off enrolling at the University of South California to concentrate on his acting roles.
His first work came doing voice-overs for Mario Bros. computer games before he landed his first small screen part in Will and Grace. He starred in the hit US soap The Young and the Restless in 2000 and had his first major movie role in John Tucker Must Die before going on to earn his big break in 2007.
Landing the leading male part in teen TV sensation Gossip Girl, Penn became on overnight star and pinup. Playing Blake Lively’s character’s love interest on the show, the two actors and former classmates began dating in real life in 2007 but split in September 2010.
While still starring in Gossip Girl, Penn is looking to further his movie career too, and is set to star in the financial crash drama Margin Call alongside Kevin Spacey and Demi Moore, and will play the coveted role of singer Jeff Buckley in the much-hyped forthcoming biopic Greetings from Tim Buckley.