Leighton Marissa Meester is an American actress and singer.
Meester starred as Blair Waldorf in the CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl.
She has also appeared in the 2010 country drama film Country Strong, the 2011 thriller
The Roommate, the 2011 romantic-comedy Monte Carlo, and the comedies The Oranges That's
My Boy.
In addition to her acting career, Meester has also ventured into music.
She released two singles, recorded songs for various soundtracks and collaborated with
several artists, being notably featured on Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad".
Her musical style has since shifted from pop to folk.
In 2012, she embarked on a mini tour with folk band Check in the Dark, with whom she
had been working with since 2010.
Early life Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to
Constance and Douglas Meester, and lived most of her life in New York City and Los Angeles.
Her ancestry includes German, Dutch, English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh.
At the time of her birth, her mother was serving time in a federal prison for her involvement
in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the USA.
She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months
in a halfway house, before returning to prison to complete her sentence, after which Leighton's
grandmother cared for her.
She has a brother, Alexander, who is 8 years younger.
Meester has maintained that her parents gave her a normal upbringing and, despite their
criminal past, are good people with experience that has only made Meester more open-minded
and non-judgmental, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone — especially your
parents — for what they've done in their past, because people change."
Meester has joked, "Look, I could've turned out a lot worse."
She has cited her mother as her style icon.
Her father works for an internet company and her mother is a writer.
Meester grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a
local playhouse.
When she was 11 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York City.
Meester attended the Professional Children's School and also began working as a model with
Wilhelmina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Weber and working with then
photographer Sofia Coppola as well as many commercials including Tamagotchi toys and
Clearasil.
She has also posed for Limited Too campaigns alongside fellow future actress, Amanda Seyfried,
in which Seyfried recalls, "Leighton was very confident."
Meester made her television acting debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of
Law & Order.
At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California, wanting more stable work, and attended Hollywood
High School and Beverly Hills High School.
She then transferred to a small private school and graduated a year early.
Career Acting
After her television debut in 1999 playing Alyssa Turner in Law & Order, Meester appeared
as a guest in two more series before landing her big role in the movie Hangman's Curse,
based on the best-selling book by Frank Peretti.
She appeared in Tarzan, which ran for only eight episodes.
Meester then started to land guest roles in other series such as Crossing Jordan, 8 Simple
Rules, 7th Heaven, Veronica Mars, 24, and Entourage.
In 2005, Meester began a regular role in the series Surface as Savannah Bennet.
Meester appeared in two more 2006 movies, Flourish and Inside.
She also guest appeared in Numb3rs and in two episodes of House M.D.
as Ali, a young girl who has a crush on House.
She had guest roles on CSI: Miami and Shark, and played the female lead in the horror film
Drive-Thru.
In 2007, Meester was cast in the CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl as Blair Waldorf.
The show is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar about the lives of New York's
privileged Upper East Side young adults.
Her performance was the most critically acclaimed of the show, with Blair being cited as the
series' breakout character, and also garnering much media recognition due to her wardrobe.
She dated Gossip Girl co-star Sebastian Stan.
Meester appeared on the television film The Haunting of Sorority Row, and played a part
in the ensemble comedy/drama Remember the Daze.
She also appeared in the horror/thriller film Killer Movie in 2008.
Meester starred in three films in 2010 with small roles in the comedies Date Night and
Going The Distance and a bigger role in Screen Gems' country drama Country Strong starring
Gwyneth Paltrow and Garrett Hedlund.
The Boston Globe found the best thing in the film was Meester because "she’s just doing
Reese Witherspoon’s June Carter Cash in Walk the Line with dabs of Miley Cyrus and
Kellie Pickler.
But it’s not an impersonation; it’s a performance with its own comedy and sweetness."
USA Today was also positive towards her performance writing "Meester shows she can do more than
play one of Gossip Girl's privileged Manhattan socialite."
In 2011, she played the role of Rebecca, an obsessive bipolar girl in the thriller The
Roommate.
Though the film mainly received negative reviews, Meester's portrayal was praised by critics.
Entertainment Weekly found she was the only one to bring "the slightest trace of something
fascinating to her role" while Los Angeles Times wrote "her performance often has the
feeling of a sports car in neutral.
When she punches it for quick changes of tone from manic to wounded or around the bend,
she shows how much more she is capable of."
Meester's second film of the year was the young femme comedy Monte Carlo, loosely based
on Jules Bass's young-adult book Headhunters, in which she plays Selena Gomez's sister and
Katie Cassidy's friend.
Movieline noted that "As in Country Strong, Meester's crack timing and irresistible poignancy
illuminate a part that would leave other actresses simpering themselves off the screen."
Her last film project of 2011 was the indie dramatic comedy The Oranges opposite Hugh
Laurie and Adam Brody, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The San Francisco Chronicle felt that she embodied well her character Owen Gleiberman
of Entertainment Weekly thought she was "charming", and Newsday called her "radiant".
Meester starred in the comedy That's My Boy, alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and
Milo Ventimiglia, which was released in June 2012.
The film received mainly negative reviews and was nominated for eight Golden Raspberry
Awards.
The film was also a box office failure as it only grossed over $57 million, failing
to recoup its production budget of $70 million.
In August 2012, Meester appeared alongside Wilmer Valderrama and Vanessa Curry in the
house music group Nomads' music video "Addicted to Love".
She recently finished filming the film God Only Knows alongside Ben Barnes and is now
working on Any Tom, Dick, or Harry.
She will reunite with Brody on Life Partners, for which filming started in April 2013.
Meester was originally in talks to reprise her role as Carrie Bishop in the film adaptation
of Veronica Mars, but due to scheduling issues, she was eventually replaced by Andrea Estella,
lead singer of the band Twin Sister.
She will appear opposite Robert Downey, Jr. in the David Dobkin dramedy The Judge; filming
started in June 2013.
Her next project is Like Sunday, Like Rain directed by Frank Whaley, where she will play
the girlfriend of Green Day's singer Billie Joe Armstrong.
She is scheduled to make her Broadway stage debut in an adaptation of John Steinbeck's
novel Of Mice and Men opposite James Franco.
Music
In 2007, Meester recorded the song "Inside the Black" for the soundtrack of Drive-Thru.
In 2008, Meester sang with Tony Bennett in an episode Entourage.
In April 2009, she released the song "Birthday" featuring duo Awesome New Republic.
A version without her vocals was included on their Rational Geographic Vol.
I album.
Later that month, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic.
The album, produced by Polow Da Don, Harvey Mason, Jr., and Spencer Nezey, which Meester
began working on in March 2009, was initially projected to be released in the fall but was
later delayed to early 2010.
It was again pushed back to late 2010 and it eventually never came out.
Despite this, Meester was able to release two singles and two other songs were leaked.
In July 2009, "Body Control" surfaced on the internet.
Meester's first official single, "Somebody to Love", featuring R&B singer Robin Thicke,
was released for airplay on October 13, 2009, and became available for digital download
on October 14, 2009.
Her second single, "Your Love's a Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010.
Meester did a duet with DJ Clinton Sparks on "Front Cut", which appeared on the internet
in February 2011.
Lil Wayne worked with her on an unreleased song titled "Make It Rain".
Jesse McCartney also wrote a song for the album.
Meester provided vocals on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which peaked at
number seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and she is also featured on Stephen Jerzak's song
"She Said".
She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas" for the compilation album A Very Special Christmas
7.
For her 2010 country drama film Country Strong, she recorded a cover of the song "Words I
Couldn't Say" by Rascal Flatts as well as "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans featured
on the film's soundtrack; a promotional single titled "Summer Girl"; and a duet with Garrett
Hedlund titled "Give In To Me".
In October 2010, Meester said she had been working with a band called Check in the Dark
and had been writing for the last six months after being inspired by Country Strong.
"I've just been having fun and writing from my heart".
She revealed her influences, "I love Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, that style of music,
and as far as songwriting I think that's where my heart is."
On April 22, 2012, Meester announced via Twitter a five-city tour with Check in the Dark, which
started on May 29 and ended on June 4.
Reflecting on her past pop collaborations, she said she "loved" them but that folk music
was "a lot closer to [her] heart".
In June 2012, Meester said she and the band had recorded all the songs for an album that
served as a demo.
Endorsements Meester has fronted many charity as well as
advertising campaigns.
In 2008, she was a spokesperson for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" campaign to motivate women
to pursue their dreams and collaborated with Safe Horizon to raise awareness about and
prevent domestic violence.
Early in 2009, Meester partnered with Reebok to model their new Top Down sneakers.
Outside of Gossip Girl, Meester has worked with co-star Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix
series camera advertisement and both were faces for a Korean clothing line called ASK
Enquired.
In 2010, Meester signed on to be the spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products.
In the same year, Meester took part in Bulgari's humanitarian efforts for the Save the Children
organization with Isabella Rossellini and Maribel Verdútaken.
Vera Wang has also chosen Meester to be the face of her newest scent Lovestruck, breaking
in summer of 2011, stating that the actress's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all
the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance."
In 2011, Italian fashion house Missoni revealed they have tapped Meester to be part of their
Spring/Summer 2011 campaign.
She fronts another South Korean brand, this time a beauty campaign, called eSpoir.
In May 2012, she became an endorser for Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe's campaign "All Stars".
She is the face of French brand Naf Naf's autumn/winter 2013/2014 collection.
In October 2013, Biotherm, a French luxury skincare company, announced Leighton as its
new global ambassador.
In the media Meester was named one of People magazine's
100 Most Beautiful People along with the cast of Gossip Girl in 2008 and 25 Beauties at
25 in 2011.
She was also listed several times in Maxim's Hot 100 list, starting #48 in 2008, #12 in
2009, #17 in 2010 and #16 in 2011.
BuddyTV ranked her #32 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2010 list.
She was ranked #75 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2010" and #53 in
2011.
Men's Health ranked her #30 in its "Hottest Women in 2011" list.
Glamour ranked her #5 among the Most Glamorous Celebrities of 2011.
Personal life In July 2011, she and her mother filed lawsuits
against each other regarding Meester's financial support of her younger brother, who has multiple
health problems.
Meester's suit claims the money she sent was used by her mother for "cosmetic procedures";
her mother's suit makes a counterclaim alleging breach of contract and physical abuse.
In November 2011, Constance Meester dropped the $3 million claim for damages against her
daughter.
As a result, Leighton obtained a default judgment on December 7, 2011.
In June 2012, Meester subsequently won the lawsuit, with the judge rejecting her mother's
claims from her previous counter-suit.
Following Gossip Girl's ending in 2012, Meester moved from New York City to Los Angeles.
She purchased a house in the Encino neighborhood in September 2011.
Meester was in a relationship with her Gossip Girl co-star Sebastian Stan for about two
years, from 2008 to 2010.
In 2012, she briefly rekindled a romance with her Remember the Daze co-star Aaron Himelstein,
after initially dating in 2007, but then began dating former The O.C actor Adam Brody whom
she met while on the set of The Oranges.
In November 2013, the couple became engaged after a year of dating and married in February
2014 in a private ceremony.
Filmography Discography
Singles As lead artist
As featured artist Promotional singles
Other charted songs Other appearances
Awards and nominations Notes
References
External links Leighton Meester at the Internet Movie Database
Leighton Meester at AllMovie