Although she doesn’t always get the credit she deserves, Kelly Rutherford is somewhat of a television legend. In the early ’90s, she appeared in over 200 episodes of the soap opera “Generations,” and in the late ’90s, she joined the cast of “Melrose Place,” two shows that have had lasting legacies in the small screen world. However, Rutherford might be best known for being part of the cast of “Gossip Girl,” where Rutherford played Lily van der Woodsen, a matriarch on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with an inflated bank account thanks to family money and settlements from her several divorces. Despite lacking maternal instinct, Lily became an iconic television mother, and Rutherford became even more of an icon for playing the character.

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Life has been quite different for Rutherford since the teen drama ended, though. Her personal life has changed, she books drastically different roles, and she no longer lives in the same place that she did while filming the teen show. Here’s what happened to Kelly Rutherford after “Gossip Girl.”

“Gossip Girl” getting canceled might’ve been somewhat of a relief for Kelly Rutherford, as she was involved in some serious legal issues involving her kids while filming, and the issues only got worse after the show wrapped. While the series was still filming, Rutherford divorced her ex-husband Daniel Giersch and the two fought over custody of their two children. Initially, the former couple settled on joint custody of their children, but the case was complicated in 2012 when Giersch, a European citizen, had his United States visa revoked due to drug dealing and fraud accusations, so was no longer legally allowed to be in the country.

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That same year, a judge issued a new custody agreement in light of Giersch’s visa issues. The judge ruled that, in order to maintain their joint custody arrangement, Giersch and Rutherford’s children would stay in France with Giersch, as he wasn’t allowed in the United States, forcing Rutherford to travel in order to visit her kids. “I’m all for 50/50 and all for children having a mother and father — and co-parenting,” Rutherford said of the custody ruling in a 2012 interview with ABC News, continuing by pointing out the issues it posed. “I’m a working mother. I’ve been the sole support of my children their entire life … and I have a job. I’m going to do my best to be there, obviously, every chance I get, but I can’t just be there on a regular basis when I have to work,” she said. Rutherford also denied claims from her ex-husband that she was responsible for his deportation from the United States.

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Kelly Rutherford still looks back on her time on “Gossip Girl” fondly. “It was such a beautiful time in my life, so the fact that it continues to have a lasting impact is such a gift. There are so many blessings that came out of this show, and that’s really to the credit of the talented writers and chemistry between the cast,” Rutherford told Women’s Wear Daily of her lasting appreciation of the teen drama.

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But, like all good things, the series had to come to an end and, despite Rutherford’s messy custody battle, she had to keep working. The actor found new roles rather quickly after “Gossip Girl” ended. For instance, in 2013, she had parts in the made-for-TV movies “A Sister’s Nightmare” and “The Stream.” The following year, Rutherford returned to her TV acting roots when she played a serial killer on an episode of “Bones.” She then had a four-episode gig as Joyce Reed on the short-lived series “Reckless.”

After Kelly Rutherford’s children were ordered to remain in France with their father, the actor kept fighting to get them back to the United States. The fight was mentally and emotionally taxing, as well as incredibly expensive. And while Rutherford played the wife of a billionaire on “Gossip Girl,” her personal resources were much, much less plentiful, and the legal battle for custody of her children drained her. “[I’ve] spent every penny. Every penny from ‘Gossip Girl,’ my pension, my stocks has been spent fighting for my children,” Rutherford told E! News during a 2013 interview.

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Rutherford was not kidding about spending everything she had on legal bills. Just a couple of months after giving that interview, Rutherford filed for bankruptcy, claiming in legal documents that she had spent almost $1.5 million on legal fees from her divorce and subsequent custody battle. What’s more, her total debts surpassed $2 million, while her assets only amounted to about $24,000. The actor also owed a significant amount in income taxes and credit card debt, and she said that she had already received loans from friends and family members in an effort to alleviate her mounting financial issues. Although filing for bankruptcy was tragic, the worst part for Rutherford was seeing what the custody battle was doing to her children. “Having to peel my son off my body, screaming, ‘Mama, save me!’ when I had to give him to his father — not because he doesn’t love his dad, but because he’s too young and it was like a forced thing,” Rutherford said.

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In 2015, Kelly Rutherford’s custody battle took a tragic turn when a judge in Monaco (where her children had been living with their father) ordered that her children were to stay in Monaco with their father and that Rutherford was not allowed to take them back to the United States even on holiday. The ruling came after Rutherford was accused of abducting her children, as she refused to return them to Monaco after bringing them to the United States for a visit. Rutherford was devastated by the ruling and the kidnapping accusation. “I was accused of things I was not able to even defend,” Rutherford said in a 2015 interview with Robin Roberts from “Good Morning America” (via People). Rutherford was also upset with the lack of legal action taken toward her ex-husband Daniel Giersch. “He violated his agreement. He violated an American court order, and the saddest part of this story is no American court seems to give a damn,” said

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While Rutherford was upset, some legal experts saw the ruling a little differently. “[Rutherford’s] visitation rights can only be used in France and Monaco, and the reason for that is because, this summer when she had visitation in America, she refused to return the kids, and courts really don’t like self-help,” Susan Moss, a lawyer independent from the case, told People. “Kelly Rutherford has only herself to blame. She is the reason why she lost custody of these kids.” While Rutherford had previously stated that she would continue fighting for custody of her children, another attorney unrelated to the actor’s case said the wise decision would be for her to stop after the 2015 ruling.

Even during the most difficult times in life, people have to continue working, and the same is true for actors. Before and after losing custody of her kids, Kelly Rutherford continued acting, landing a variety of roles on television to help pay the bills and keep her career alive. From 2015 to 2017, Rutherford had short stints on the series “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Being Mary Jane,” “Quantico,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “Nightcap.” While no roles in the few years following her custody loss lasted more for than four episodes, it was still a steady amount of work for a TV actor.

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During that time, Rutherford also landed parts on made-for-TV movies, such as “Night of the Wild” and “Christmas Wedding Planner.” Neither movie received good reviews, but the actor didn’t let that slow her down. She continued to secure more roles, and the ongoing effort is what she loves about her job. “I became an actress because I wanted this journey. I wanted an experience where I could constantly learn and grow through doing, ensuring that I would never feel bored. I was excited for the adventure of it, and it has been incredibly fulfilling. Along the way, I have met — and continue to meet — so many wonderful creative individuals, which is truly a blessing. This journey has truly expanded my world,” Rutherford told Numero in 2024.

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Kelly Rutherford was very busy with work in the late 2010s, and some of the projects she worked on were major. Rutherford was especially busy lending her talents to television projects. For example, from 2017 to 2018, several years after the 2015 custody ruling, Rutherford appeared on six episodes of the series “Gone.” In 2019, she then landed a notable role in the “Pretty Little Liars” spin-off series, “Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists,” bringing her back to the teen drama world that she’s more than familiar with. Still, Rutherford found the project to be different from anything she’d done in the past. “I think I was trying to figure [my character] out a lot, because the tone of the show is so different … It was really fun to sort of navigate and figure out ‘how do I do this?'” Rutherford said during a 2019 interview for “The HollywoodLife Podcast” with Bonnie Fuller and Ali Stagnitta.

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In 2019, Rutherford also appeared in two episodes of the Lifetime miniseries “V.C. Andrews’ Heaven” and finished an arc on “Dynasty” that she had started the year prior. Amidst all the projects, Rutherford was just grateful to be working. “You start out and you just want to work. I still feel that way. I just love working, and so it’s always fun to go to work and do what we do,” she said.

Although she lost custody of her children and can no longer bring them back with her to the United States for visits, Kelly Rutherford maintains a good relationship with her kids after the nasty custody battle. That said, her only option to see them on a regular basis was to move to where they reside with their father — in Monaco. As difficult as it may have been to uproot, there are worse places to live than Monaco, and just about anyone who’s ever been to the principality would attest to this fact, including Rutherford it seems. “It’s actually quite peaceful. It’s the opposite of what everyone thinks it is, for me at least. It’s a place you can come and really just be quiet,” Rutherford told Travel + Leisure in 2024 of her new life in the Mediterranean.

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Rutherford shared how she traded a very busy lifestyle living in New York City for a much calmer one in Monaco. “I just walk the dogs, hang out with the kids, and run errands,” she said of her day-to-day life. “But it’s mostly just quiet time here for me.” Rutherford also found beauty in taking a slower approach to life, detailing how having to slow down gives you time to gaze at the scenery outside your window. “Just taking it in and discovering — it’s the discovery that’s so beautiful,” said Rutherford.

Despite her intense custody battle and having to travel across the Atlantic in order to see her children, Kelly Rutherford never stopped working. (She had to pay for those plane tickets somehow.) However, after filming two projects that were released in 2020 — the TV movie “All My Husband’s Wives” and an episode of the TV series “Power Book II: Ghost” — Rutherford went on an acting hiatus, likely brought on somewhat naturally by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rutherford returned to acting with an episode of the French TV series “Escort Boys,” which aired in 2023. “We were filming in Arles — and it was really magical,” Rutherford told Travel + Leisure of her first experience with a European production. “It’s like the dream to work in France, like we rode horses and on the Camargue. My son came with me and it was just lovely,” she added.

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While Rutherford returned to acting, her main focus was still her children, both of whom had become teenagers by the time the pandemic ended. “I’m just trying to keep up with them. They’re both so incredibly savvy and smart, and I’m very thankful. They have a much more global mentality, too, for young people. I’m learning so much from them all the time. I hope they’re learning something from me — I don’t know what!” the actor said of her relationship with her kids.

Although Kelly Rutherford’s acting career hasn’t been quite as active as it was when she was in “Gossip Girl,” the fame she achieved with the younger generations from starring on the teen drama series endured, and it transferred to social media. Rutherford has over 2.5 million followers on Instagram, and her audience loves her grid, which showcases a mixture of candid shots from her day-to-day life and posed photos showing off her outfits — both of which are interspersed with posts imparting words of wisdom. And Rutherford’s social media popularity wasn’t forced. “Social media has always been organic for me. I never had anyone do it for me. I just post quotes I like, and it’s not necessarily for the numbers or likes. I just found my way with it. I just think now [that] it’s so important to put good energy out in the world. I think the world needs it. We all need it,” Rutherford told People in 2024 of her online success.

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Rutherford has become particularly famous for her ‘fit pics, which are photos she posts of herself showing off her outfit of the day. The actor often takes photos of herself in mirrors, and the practice led her to some unexpected places. “It’s funny — it just sort of happened! Now, it’s become a way to support fun, emerging brands,” Rutherford told Vogue while discussing the result of her mirror selfies. “I’m just having fun with it and figuring it out as I go.”

Kelly Rutherford is a fan of fashion. “I’ve always loved fashion. I’ve always loved the cinema of it — this idea that we can change our mood or our identities by what we put on,” Rutherford said in an interview with Vogue. And the actor has proven that she’s serious about her love for fashion. In addition to posting photos of her outfits on Instagram, Rutherford has become somewhat of a fixture at high-end fashion shows. In 2025, for instance, Rutherford was spotted sitting in front of multiple runways during Paris Fashion Week, with Chanel and Rahul Mishra among the designer names. A couple of months later, Rutherford made “Gossip Girl” fans everywhere happy when she attended the Elie Saab show and ran into a former co-star – the stunning Leighton Meester. The two stars greeted each other with a hug, and they even sat next to each other once the show started.

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To make the shows she attended even more special, Rutherford brought her son, Hermés Giersch, with her, marking a rare occasion where the two have been spotted out in public together since the actor was embroiled in her high-profile custody battle. “It was a challenging time. It was a heartbreaking time. But I focus on the good most of the time, I really do. I’m very thankful of where we are. I have a great relationship with my kids,” Rutherford said to People of how she views that time in her life.