Jessica Szohr - Piranha 3D premiere in Hollywood 8-18-10

Jessica Karen Szohr (pronounced "Zoar"; born March 31, 1985) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Vanessa Abrams on The CW series Gossip Girl.

Szohr earned her laurels as a frequent presence on U.S. television during the 2000s. She appeared in numerous guest stints in television series such as That's So Raven, My Wife and Kids, What I Like About You and Joan of Arcadia. She also appeared in three episodes of CSI: Miami as Samantha Barrish.

In 2007, she appeared in a major recurring role as Laura for six episodes in the now cancelled ABC Dramedy television series What About Brian. Along with Stacy Keibler, she played a neighbour to the main character Brian O'Hara (Barry Watson)

In the same year, Szohr earned her breakthrough role on the hit CW Teen Drama television series Gossip Girl.[8] Based on the novel series written by Cecily von Ziegesar, Gossip Girl’s premise follows the lives of privileged young adults on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City. She plays Vanessa Abrams, Dan Humphrey’s (Penn Badgley) childhood friend and occasional love interest. Szohr described her character to Ocean Drive magazine, "Vanessa doesn't change for other people. She says what she thinks. […] she’s just a badass girl from Brooklyn". The portrayal of Vanessa in the TV series has drawn criticism from Ziegesar, who claimed Vanessa is "one character they ruined". Originally cast as a recurring role, she became an additional series regular after the season one episode The Blair Bitch Project.

She has appeared in small roles in films such as Somebody Help Me, The Reading Room and Fired Up.

Szohr was next to sign onto Dimension Films' horror Piranha 3-D directed by Alexandre Aja. The film is a remake of the 1978 comedy-horror Piranha. In the film, she plays Kelly Driscoll, "a hot young townie caught up in the excitement of co-eds who have descended upon the area for spring break." The role required her to be underwater; Szohr later told the New York Daily News that filming was difficult because she was "not the best swimmer." Filming began in June 2009 and was pushed back from its original release date in March to August 2010. The film has been cited as her "big-screen debut". She also appeared in a Funny or Die video promoting the film alongside Kelly Brook and others.

In April 2010, Szohr joined the cast of the romantic comedy Love, Wedding, Marriage, along with Mandy Moore and Kellan Lutz. The film began principal photography in April 2010 and was filmed in New Orleans.

Szohr will have a role in the independent post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie, Hirokin which began production in July 2010. Her role as Orange has been described as a "cunning temptress". She is also set to star in the Eric Amadio directed indie film, Walks alongside Brittany Snow and Rumer Willis