From 'Teen Witch' to 'Cobra Kai'—See What Robyn Lively Is Doing Now

Robyn Lively became a teen star with her roles in beloved movies like Teen Witch and The Karate Kid Part III, both of which were released in 1989 and captured the spirit of the era. She’s worked steadily in film and TV since then and has drawn much attention over the years for her famous family (yep, Blake Lively is her half-sister!) Read on for a look at what she’s been up to—and what she’s said about her sister.

The famous Lively family

Robyn Lively was born into the film industry, as her mom, Elaine Lively, worked as a talent manager and her two older siblings, Lori and Jason Lively, were also actors. Robyn’s parents divorced when she was a kid, and in 1979, when she was 7, her mom married her second husband, Ernie Brown, who took on the Lively surname and worked as an actor and acting coach. Elaine and Ernie then had two children, Robyn’s half-siblings Eric and Blake Lively, who both became actors.

While Gossip Girl and It Ends With Us star Blake Lively went on to become the biggest star of the talented clan, Robyn got her start as a teen, when Blake was just a baby, and the two have remained close over the years, with none of the sibling rivalry one might expect to see in such a high-profile family. On Instagram, Robyn has called Blake “My best friend” and said, “You are one of the best humans I know,” and she supported her sister during the media frenzy around It Ends With Us.

Robyn even had a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in It Ends With Us, appearing as an attendee at the pivotal funeral that takes place early in the film. It’s clear that Robyn and Blake have a deep bond, and Blake has called her family “the most important thing in my life” and said, “I have a big family and no one ever treated me like a child. They always treated me like an adult, like an equal.”

Robyn Lively’s acting career

Robyn Lively made her debut at just 6 years old, with a role in the 1978 TV movie Summer of My German Soldier. She then appeared in a number of TV episodes, and as a teen she acted in the 1986 films The Best of Times and Wildcats.

Lively had her breakout moment in 1989, when she played Ralph Macchio’s crush turned friend in The Karate Kid Part III and the title character in Teen Witch. Both of those films have proven to have staying power, as Lively reprised her Karate Kid role in the hit TV sequel series Cobra Kai in 2022, while Teen Witch, which notoriously flopped at the box office, became a cult classic over the years.

In an interview, Lively spoke highly of her signature role in Teen Witch, saying, “Teen Witch is my most favorite thing I've ever done. I see how happy it makes people, and that makes me happy. The great thing is that no one realized it was going to become all these things when we were making it. We thought we were making a very serious movie. We didn't know we were making a cult classic. Although, I don't think you ever do.”

After her role as the ultimate ’80s witch, Lively joined the cast of a very different cult favorite, the haunting David Lynch series Twin Peaks, playing a mysterious femme fatale in the show’s second season from 1990 to 1991.

After Twin Peaks, Lively played a nurse on Doogie Howser, M.D. from 1991 to 1993. She then played a nurse again on Chicago Hope from 1994 to 1995 and starred in the short-lived prime time soap Savannah (1996 to 1997) and was in another ill-fated series, the sitcom George and Leo (1997 to 1998).

In the ’00s and ’10s, Lively showed up in many TV episodes and movies including Simon Says (2006), Letters to God (2010), A Deadly Obsession (2012) and Ouija (2014), and costarred in the family series Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street (2014 to 2016).

What Robyn Lively is up to today

Lively has been getting renewed attention in recent years, thanks to her nostalgic appearance in Cobra Kai, and she’s had a particularly busy stretch lately, with appearances in National Anthem and Best Clowns in 2023 and three movies—Someone Like You, Ganymede and It Ends With Us—all released this year. Most recently, she’s appeared in six episodes of 9-1-1: Lone Star, and she has a number of projects in production.

Reflecting on her long career in an interview earlier this year, Lively said, “I’m so fortunate. I still pinch myself. I mean, our industry has changed so much . . . And I’ve been able to transition, which is kind of unheard of. So I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to still be in this industry doing what I absolutely love, because it’s become so much more competitive.” Even if Robyn isn’t the most famous Lively, it’s clear she’s working as much as ever, and won’t be stepping away from the industry any time soon.

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