Blake Lively is featured in December 2009 issue of Marie Claire. Inside, the 22-year-old Gossip Girl dishes about getting into character, her southern roots and why she feels like she grew up in Disneyland. December 2009 issue of Marie Claire hits the stands on November 10. More pictures in full story!

On what it was like to work with Maria Bello on her new film:
“I was honestly terrified. I hadn’t slept that much, and all I wanted that day was for Maria to say, “Wow, great job.” And when she didn’t say anything to me, I thought, Oh, my gosh, I’m terrible. She hates it. She’s calling her agent, saying, “What have you gotten me into?”

On her real life vs. the character’s she portrays:
“As a character, I get to be this wild, outgoing person that I’m so not. I think it all comes from being the youngest of five. I was always observing my siblings and hearing stories about their lives that turned out to be helpful as an actress.”

On the little known fact that she is actually a “Southern girl”:
“I grew up in L.A., but I was the only one in my family born there. I have a tight-knit Southern family, so whenever I tell people I’m from L.A., they say, “Yeah, but you don’t count,” I guess because of the Southern values I was raised with, and the way I eat—the more sugary and cheesy and fried, the better.”

On jumping from school to school as a girl:
“…When I was only 3 years old, my mom enrolled me in the first grade. My older brother was supposed to start school, but he didn’t want to go alone, so my mom told them I was 6 since I was so tall. But after a few weeks, they said they would have to put me in mentally disabled classes because I wasn’t up to pace with the rest of the kids. They thought that I was slow because all I wanted to do was sleep while the other kids were doing their projects. [laughs] So my mom took me out of school.”

Photos: Marie Claire