Blake Lively is back on the red carpet following the birth of her fourth child with her husband Ryan Reynolds.
Though not the first sighting of the actress since giving birth – the star most recently made waves for an outing with Taylor Swift – it does mark her first appearance at a red carpet event since welcoming the fourth Reynolds-Lively tot.
The Gossip Girl alum stepped out in New York City on April 24 for Barnard College's Annual Gala, looking chic as ever.
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For the event, Blake, 35, summoned spring with an off-the-shoulder, floral print Carolina Herrera dress, paired with a color-block trench coat with bright panels in hot pink, coral, red, and neon yellow, adding on a pair of Manolo Blahnik's iconic Hangisi pumps in red.
She had her signature golden blonde tresses styled in a tousled up-do, and further accessorized with a ombré rhinestone clutch with a gradient pink hue.
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Though Blake ultimately did not attend Barnard (Columbia's sister school) or any college – she started her acting career in high school and had already deferred for a year when she landed the iconic role of Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl – she presented an award at the gala, which she said she considered an honorary graduation.
In a video shared on Barnard's Instagram Stories, the star of the upcoming It Ends With Us adaptation recalled being close to going to college when no acting jobs were turning up, until the creators of Gossip Girl finally called her back.
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She said: "The producers of Gossip Girl called me like an ex-boyfriend and they said, 'Listen, will you please do this show? And if you do, we promise you can go to Columbia one day a week… as long as it doesn't interfere with our seven-day-a-week shooting schedule.'"
"Who doesn't want to earn a bachelor's degree in 77 years?" she joked, before adding: "So needless to say, I think I have to accept that tonight is the closest I'm going to get.
"So I'm just going to pretend that this is me graduating tonight. So thank you, thank you. I made it," she concluded.
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