Blake Lively has broken her silence on the death of her father, Ernie Lively

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ernie was with his wife Elaine and his children - also including Jason, 53, Eric, 39, Robyn, 49, and 54-year-old Lori Lively - who are all also actors in their own right.

And hours after the sad news was reported, the 'A Simple Favor' actress took to her Instagram Story to share a sweet picture or her hugging her dad and captioned it with a brown love heart.

In 2003, Ernie suffered a heart attack, and he was treated with stem-cell therapy as part of an experimental retrograde gene procedure in 2014.

The movie star was also known for his roles in 'Passenger 57' and 'The Dukes of Hazzard', while he played Blake's on-screen father in the 2005 comedy-drama 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' and the 2008 sequel.

His other credits include 'The Man in the Moon', 'The Beverly Hillbillies' and 'Mulholland Falls'.

On the small screen, he made appearances in the likes of 'Seinfeld', 'Murder', 'She Wrote' and 'The West Wing'.

Blake - who shot to fame as Serena van der Woodsen in 'Gossip Girl' - previously credited her mother and father with mentoring her into the actress she is today.

She said: “My mom and dad always taught acting, so instead of getting me babysitters, they would just bring me to class. And I’m a naturally shy person, so it really helped. I would’ve just been hiding under the table, pulling on my mother’s dress if I hadn’t been in their classes.”