BuddyTV’s Debbie Chang recently interviewed Gossip Girl’s Jessica Szohr, the actress who plays Vanessa Abrams on the CW TV teen drama. In their conversation, Szohr shared how she identified with her character and the difference between her and Vanessa’s style.

Jessica Szohr said that out of all the characters on the show, she could relate to Vanessa the most. “I come from Wisconsin , so living in New York , and especially on the Upper East Side , is very different from where I grew up. Mostly, personally, I could relate to Vanessa, which is great because that’s who I’m playing,” she explained.

In preparation for her role, Szohr read some of the books where the show was based on. Szohr admitted that even she was surprised that there were changes.

“I took a couple of books to read on the plane to kind of make a backstory for her, and when I was reading the script…writers and the executive producers were doing something different with the show than with the book…Vanessa was very different. Vanessa shaves her head in the books, wears combat boots and has a ton of piercings, and I have a full head of curly, frizzy hair,” she said

Szohr shared that it was Eric Damon and the other costume designers who decided that Vanessa be more of a bohemian, earthy kind of girl. Vanessa’s style is different from Szohr’s, but she admitted to enjoying the dressing up part. “I think it’s so fun because Vanessa dresses a lot different than I do in real life, so it’s fun when they give me all these patterns and bright shoes and all that…they’re so good at what they do, so I always trust their instincts,” said Szohr. Outside her shoots, Szohr just puts on jeans, t-shirts and flip-flops.

Szohr confirmed that there are only five episodes left before season 1 ends. “It was supposed to be originally nine episodes… they’ve crammed nine episodes into five. [There are] weddings, people coming out with their sexuality, and a lot of stuff,” she squealed.

Groshan Fabiola

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