NAME:Ed Westwick BIRTH DATE:June 27, 1987 (Age: 26) PLACE OF BIRTH:Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England

Actor Edward "Ed" Westwick was born June 27, 1987, in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, England, to Peter and Carol Westwick, who enrolled him in a drama program at the age of 6. When Westwick was 18 years old, he trained at the London National Youth Theatre, which helped start his career with appearances in the British televisions series Doctors as Holden, Casualty as Johnny Cullin, and Afterlife as Darren.

Westwick's big break came when he joined the cast of the CW's hit-teen drama series Gossip Girl, based on the novel by Cecily von Ziegesar. Following the show's premiere, Westwick became an instant heartthrob and was named People magazine's Sexiest Men Alive in 2008. He later went on to win Best TV Villain in 2008 and 2009 at the Teen Choice Awards and was crowned 2010's Breakthrough Talent by GQ. In 2009, Westwick starred in the sequel to Donnie Darko and made a guest appearance in season 3 of Showtime's original series Californication as a vampire-literature obsessed student.

In 2011, Westwick starred in Clint Eastwood's biopic J. Edgar, which gives the audience an inside look into the first F.B.I. director's secretive life, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Later in the year, Westwick appeared with Felicity Jones in the romantic flick Chalet Girl.

Reportedly, Westwick will be starring alongside Hailee Steinfeld in a new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet as Juliet's hot-tempered cousin Tybalt, set to release in 2013.

Is Ed Westwick Gay?

Rumors that teen heartthrobs Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford are more than roommates began circling around Hollywood when the two were photographer hanging out in close proximity while on the set of Gossip Girl. The two were able to doge most of the speculation until they both appeared on The View.

As soon as they sat down, show host Joy Behar spent little time warming up to the gay romance subject, asking the two if they were an item, in which Chace replied, "Oh Joy c'mon I knew you were going to do this to me."

An awkward silence ensued until Westwick expressed how close he was with Chace, saying, "We are a...we are...we're having a lot of fun, that's for sure."

The interview did little to squash the rumors and acted more as a new launching pad for further rumors since the two never directly answered the question.

With the speculation posted on Page Six Magazine in August 2008, Westwick finally confronted the gossip head-on, elaborating his thoughts concerning the rumor that he and co-star Chace Crawford were dating:

"People think Chace is gay, and thought I was gay, that we were humping. It's not true, but hilarious. People project their fantasies onto people. I've never been someone who makes it my objective to go out and pick up chicks. But I've met some fantastic ladies here. You know those amazing conversations where you find yourself in a café talking until 2 a.m. and never see them again."

Westwick later blasted the rumors in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, saying, "It's funny because I love this f**king dude dearly. I would die for this f**king dude. He's my brother. But, by God, we are so into our f**king women it's ridiculous."

Gossip Girl writers may have been inspired by the rumor, seeing that it was announced on August 25, 2012 that Westwick would be sharing a same-sex make-out scene with Ed Neal in an upcoming episode. Neal will star as Josh Ellis, NYU's head of freshman affairs, in episode six.

Dating History

September 2008

Westwick and Drew Barrymore were photographed making-out at a Kings of Leon concert in New York City. She may have gotten a taste of something she didn't like because the two were never spotted together in public again.

December 2009 - May 2010

Westwick and Jessica Szohr first met on the set of Gossip Girl and gossip of their romance soon followed. They went public with their relationship after they were caught kissing. When they ultimately split, Westwick told sources that girlfriends are simply just "too much of a headache."

January 2011 - Present

Westwick and Australian model/actress Phoebe Tonkin have been spotted on many occasions, getting nice and cozy in the beginning of 2011.