Don't believe the gossip, here's the real truth about Leighton Meester:
after a somewhat chaotic childhood, she's killing it on screen,
giving back with her time, and making a name for herself on the ocean.
Leighton Meester's childhood wasn't exactly easy. In fact, her mother Constance Meester was serving
time in federal prison on a drug trafficking charge while she was pregnant with Leighton.
The future Gossip Girl star was born in a nearby hospital and spent three months in a halfway house
before moving to live with her grandmother on Marco Island, Florida. Leighton's father Doug
also spent time in prison on drug-related charges. Despite that rough start, Leighton
is now able to look back on her childhood with some fondness. As she admitted to Marie Claire,
"It wasn't uncomplicated. But I played outside. I went to the beach. There were happy, fun times."
And in a 2009 interview with Cosmopolitan, she explained,
"My mom lived through a lot before I was born, and I can't judge her
on that. She and my dad are good people. Look, I could've turned out a lot worse."
In a 2023 interview with Brit + Co., Leighton Meester admitted,
"Growing up, [my family] relied on food stamps and welfare. A lot of the time,
we would maybe towards the beginning of the month have enough [food], and then not necessarily at
the end of the month, or [we'd] put things back on the shelf at the grocery store. It was limited."
Meester is now passionate about helping others who might be in the same position that she once was.
This has included partnering with the nonprofit group Feeding America. When she became a mother,
it made her reflect on her own experiences growing up. As she explained to People Magazine,
"It's one of the reasons why I'm so grateful to be partnering with Feeding America [...] because
growing up, we dealt with food insecurity. We relied on food stamps and welfare,
and it definitely wasn't always easy come dinner time or at the grocery checkout line."
"Hunger: that is a huge problem in America and even in Los Angeles, where we live."
Leighton Meester's artistic creativity was evident from a very young age. Her family
frequently played and listened to music, and she herself learned to play the piano when she was a
kid. She was also developing her musical taste at this time. As she explained to Vice in 2014,
"I had an older brother, and he would make me tapes with Green Day, Soul Asylum, Pearl Jam,
the Offspring. I don't know if it was just because I had a brother who was in middle
school when I was a kid, but I felt like I had the introduction to more mature music,
and I was able to outgrow and shun the popular music. Now I look back and think, 'Eh,
it was kind of fun, like *NSYNC. It’s not really my taste, but that’s what people were into."
In the late 2000s, Leighton Meester became synonymous with her Gossip Girl character
Blair Waldorf, whom she started playing when she was only 21. But her career actually started much
earlier than that. In fact, she was just 10 years old when she was discovered by an agent
in Atlanta while attending a model convention. She was signed on the spot. She then headed to
New York with her mom to pursue a career in showbiz. As she recalled to Marie Claire,
"I ended up staying. I never went back to Florida. That was that."
Meester soon started booking commercials for the
likes of Bloomingdale's and Limited Too. As she noted to Marie Claire,
"I worked a lot, even though I was just a kid. It seemed normal to me."
Then when she was 14, she moved to Los Angeles to start auditioning for TV pilot season.
After moving to L.A., Meester soon started booking guest parts on popular TV shows
like Law & Order, House, and 24. But building an acting career at
such a young age wasn't always easy. As she admitted to Net-a-Porter in 2018,
"It is such an emotionally taxing job because people who are hiring you or not hiring you
are judging you based on things that are, in most cases, out of your control. And hearing as an 11,
12, 13, 14, 15-year-old that a great attribute is that you are 'really professional' is not
a really kid-like compliment. It messes with your mind if you don't take it the right way."
"I wanted to see you."
"Yeah, I got that. So did everyone else. They think you're a stalker."
Fortunately, Meester has since developed a healthy approach
to dealing with the struggles that come with an acting career. As she explained,
"It's been important for me as an adult to pursue [...] things that I feel build up my
identity in a separate way, and maybe more so than other people who started [working] later."
Gossip Girl was a massive sensation as soon as it debuted on The CW in 2007.
It made superstars out of its young cast, but it apparently wasn't always
the most pleasant working experience. As Meester recalled to Net-a-Porter in 2018,
"I was young when I started Gossip Girl. A lot more people were suddenly around,
and I was being looked at. If you don't have the right perspective, you could definitely
be confused by people being that nice to you or judging you for behavior that's typical of a 20,
21-year-old ... making mistakes but having to make them very publicly."
Ultimately, Meester has been able to look back with a healthy perspective
on her six years of making Gossip Girl. As she put it,
"I'm not haunted by that time, but it's been interesting and helpful for me to look at it
and examine it as an adult and go, 'I don't know if it was the healthiest environment.'"
At the height of Gossip Girl's popularity, Meester branched out and launched a music
career. In October 2009, she released her debut single, "Somebody to Love," a dance-pop
track that featured Robin Thicke. But she eventually decided to move away from her
poppy roots in favor of a more authentic sound. As she admitted to Elle in 2022,
"I didn't really have an affinity for pop music as far as writing or performing [goes],
but it felt like that was what I was gonna do,
so I just went with it. Then I was like, 'Nope, this isn't right.'"
After realizing that she wasn't making the music that she wanted to, Meester made a
big decision. She amicably split with her label, and in 2014, she released an album
with a new sound. That album was Heartstrings, a folk-infused indie pop record that showcased
Meester's incredible vocals and new guitar skills. During her interview with Elle, Meester promised,
"I will continue to make music and write and sing."
"I have a bunch of stuff recorded and written and recorded and ready to go."
While playing Blair Waldorf, Leighton Meester was an inescapable fashion icon,
although she was happy to shed those looks when she was done shooting.
"So by the end, you're like, I don't need to wear this. I don't need to see this again."
When she's not acting, Meester has also always showcased her own enviable style.
So it should come as no surprise that she's been tempted to make moves in the
fashion industry for a long time. In a 2010 interview with British Vogue, she admitted,
"The more I think about [starting a fashion line], the more it sounds like something I
would want to do. I don't know if it'd be any time soon, but I'd really like
to work on a collaboration with somebody — I always have ideas for stuff like that."
In 2019, Meester made her dreams a reality when she collaborated with sustainable brand
Christy Dawn on a line of jumpsuits. She told People Magazine at the time,
"In the last five years or so, I really started becoming more conscious and aware of what I'm
consuming whether it be what I am watching, eating, wearing or what I'm shopping for."
Meester and Christy Dawn created "The Leighton Jumper," a sleeveless jumpsuit
with a scoop back that was both wearable and stylish. Hopefully,
this is just the first of many fashion collaborations for Meester.
In 2014, Leighton Meester married fellow actor Adam Brody in a secret ceremony. They met on
the set of the 2011 movie The Oranges and managed to keep their relationship quiet. In August 2015,
they had their first child, a baby girl named Arlo. And then in 2020,
they welcomed a baby boy. Meester and Brody make it a point of keeping
their family life private. As Meester told Refinery29 in 2017,
"I don't talk about Arlo very much. I am very proud of that area of my life."
Despite remaining private about her home life, it sounds like Meester is
very happy with her growing family. As she admitted to Glamour in 2018,
"Nobody can tell you what parenthood is going to be like. You think you know,
and then it's just so hard. I feel so, so lucky that I have help and a husband. I feel stable,
but there are so many people who don't have that."
As for the future that Meester envisions for her kids, it sounds like she doesn't
exactly want them to follow in their mom's footsteps. As she explained to Ladygunn in 2017,
"I was eleven when I started to act, and I can't speak for anybody but myself,
but ultimately, I'm happy where I am in my life and in my work, and I think I learned a lot,
and at the same time, I don't think working is the right environment for childhood."
It appears that Meester and Brody have decided to keep their kids out of the spotlight, at least
for the time being. However, Meester has worked with children other than her own while acting,
so she's aware that it can be handled properly. As she explained to Glamour,
"The truth is, if I'm being totally honest, a set by and large — at least
for dramatic situations — isn't really built for kids. But on [the sitcom] Single Parents,
we have a lot of kids, and I’m amazed with them. They’re more professional
than I am! [...] As long as you have the right environment it’s okay."
While the original TV version of Gossip Girl wrapped up way back in 2012, it's remained
popular with its legions of loyal fans and found new viewers through streaming. Meester didn't
return for HBO Max's Gossip Girl revival, which was canceled after just two seasons,
although she hasn't ruled out returning to the series in some form sometime in
the future. During a 2022 interview with Fox 5 New York, she revealed,
"I feel really good sort of sitting back and leaving it to the kids,
to the young, new generation. They're doing so awesome."
However, she also added:
"You never say never."
As for whether or not Meester ever rewatches the show, she admitted to Glamour,
"To be honest, I didn't watch it to begin with because I was making it. I
just didn't have the time. Now I'm just like, 'I don't have time to watch an hour show.'"
So as it stands now, GG fans will just have to keep their
fingers crossed if they're dying for a reunion.
When she's not looking after her kids or staying busy in front of the camera,
Leighton Meester likes to head out to the beach and catch some waves.
During a 2019 interview with Shape, she opened up about her fitness routine and
revealed that her husband introduced her to surfing. As she revealed,
"For the last six months, surfing has pretty much been my main form of exercise."
"I think that every time you surf, you surf with sharks."
The main reason Meester enjoys surfing so much is because it's an all-consuming
outdoor activity rather than a specific exercise routine. As she explained,
"I have found that when I don't have a physical result in mind when I'm
exercising — it's not just about getting sore or getting abs or burning fat — I feel much
more confident. I'm working on a skill, and that is so fulfilling to me. Plus,
being in the ocean is such a spiritual experience that you forget you're getting a real workout."
At this rate, maybe a Gossip Girl reunion would have to switch coasts so that Blair
Waldorf could hang ten in sunny California. Or Meester could just join up with another classic
teen drama if her husband and his O.C. buddies ever get back together for their own reunion.