Leighton Meester: Snapshot
- Name
- Leighton Meester
- Date of Birth
- April 09, 1986
- Birth Place
- Marco Island, Fla.
Opposite Ed Westwick and Blake Lively, 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 series as 24 and Entourage. In 2008, she landed on PEOPLE's Most Beautiful List, before setting her sights on music in 2009, with the Cobra Starship hit, "Good Girls Go Bad."
People Hot List - Which Stars Have the Most Buzz?
- Courteney Cox Arquette
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The Hot List shows the most buzzed about celebs of the moment as measured by reader activity on People.com
Leighton Meester: Video
Star Talk
Before going back to the set, Gossip Girl's queen bee reveals her fashion faves and more
Leighton Meester: Five Fun Facts
- 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.
- Leighton Meester recorded a song for the soundtrack of her 2007 horror-comedy film Drive-Thru.
- 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."
- Gossip Girl shoots on the same stage occupied for ten years by HBO's The Sopranos at Silvercup Studios in Queens, N.Y.
- 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


Entourage: Virgin Territory
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, left).
- 2005


24: Poisoned Tea
Meester racks up TV credits with Fox's 24 as Debbie Pendleton (right) 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.
Photo Credits
Top Left: CW
Leighton Meester: Photos 
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