Leighton Meester: Snapshot

Name
Leighton Meester
Date of Birth
April 09, 1986
Birth Place
Marco Island, Fla.
As Blair Waldorf – the ruling Queen Bee of New York's Upper East Side – Leighton Meester took her character to richer and bitchier heights when she chartered a helicopter to go to the airport and let her BFF take the wrap for a rumored pregnancy on The CW's Gossip Girl. With her ultra luxe wardrobe (and equally glossy lips), Meester has burst out of this ensemble to stardom.

Opposite Chase Crawford, Blake Lively and Penn Badgley, Meester's performance has been hailed by Variety as "a predatory junior Joan Collins who practically breathes fire out of her pinched, perfectly WASP-ish nostrils." Pre-GG, Meester–who was born while her mother was serving time in prison–made the TV rounds on such hit series as 24, House M.D. and Entourage, where she played a virginal pop star. In 2008, with her Gossip Girl costars, Meester landed on PEOPLE's Most Beautiful List.

Leighton Meester: Video

Star Talk

Before going back to the set, Gossip Girl's queen bee reveals her fashion faves and more

(02:48)

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Leighton Meester: Five Fun Facts

  1. Leighton Meester was a blonde before going brunette to audition for Gossip Girl. "They said, 'Please, you can't wear a wig.' So I dyed my hair before I even got the part. That's a big deal but I'm glad I did!" Meester told the AP.
  2. Leighton Meester recorded a song for the soundtrack of her 2007 horror-comedy film Drive-Thru.
  3. Although her Gossip Girl character, Blair Waldorf, is often labeled a bitch, Leighton Meester says she relates to Blair. "Blair's shortcomings are because of her insecurities," Meester told the AP. "She feels all this pressure to be perfect: to be the most beautiful, the most popular, the most loved."
  4. Gossip Girl shoots on the same stage occupied for ten years by HBO's The Sopranos at Silvercup Studios in Queens, N.Y.
  5. Leighton Meester loves Valentino, who, she told WWD, "is one who never misses." But she wouldn't drop cash on fashion like her character Blair: "I would never just walk into the Valentino boutique and go, 'I'm gonna take this leopard-print gown.' You can never wear it again, it's so memorable. You'd want to borrow it for the red carpet."

Leighton Meester: Biography

1990s

From Child Model to Actor

At 10, Meester–who was born while her mother was serving time in prison–signs with Wilhelmina Models and appears in Ralph Lauren ads. At 13, she makes her TV acting debut on an episode of Law & Order.

2004

Leighton Meester

July 25

Entourage: Virgin Territory

After appearing as Jane's sister in the WB's failed series, Tarzan and Jane, Meester plays virginal pop singer Justine Chapin on the HBO hit Entourage. In the episode, Jessica Alba – who appears as herself – invites the boys to a party she's throwing for Meester's character, who flirts with movie star Vince Chase (played by Adrian Grenier, right).

2005

Leighton Meester

January 09

24: Poisoned Tea

Meester heads to Fox's 24 as Debbie Pendleton (left) in the acclaimed show's fourth season. She plays the American girlfriend of Behrooz Araz (played by Jonathan Ahdout) and gets poisoned by Araz's mother in her four episode-run. Meester also appears on Veronica Mars, with Kristen Bell, House M.D., and CSI: Miami.

Read More on Leighton Meester's Life

Photo Credits

Top Left: CW

Edited by Janet Mock