Biography
Date of Birth
9 December 1986, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
Birth Name
Leighton Marissa Meester
Height
5' 4½" (1.64 m)
Mini Biography
Leighton Marissa Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance Lynn (Haas) and Douglas Jay Meester. Although born in Texas, Meester spent her early years in Marco Island, Florida with her grandparents. There, she became involved with the local playhouse and made her stage debut in a production of "The Wizard of Oz".
She moved to New York with her mother at the age of 11 and was soon working as a model and appearing in TV commercials. A few years later, at age 14, she and her mother moved again, this time to Los Angeles, where she began to pick up TV work, making her debut in Law & Order: Disciple (1999).
A steady stream of TV work followed, and in 2007 she landed the role of Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl (2007), which made her famous. This led to more TV and movie roles. In 2009, she launched a recording career with the single, "Somebody to Love".
Trivia
Has an older brother named Douglas Logan Meester (born 1983).
Her surname, Meester, is Dutch for "master" or "teacher". Her father is of approximately one quarter German, one quarter Dutch, one quarter Irish, and one quarter English ancestry. Her maternal grandfather was the son of German immigrants, and her maternal grandmother had English, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.
During her modeling years, she worked with photographer-turned-filmmaker Sofia Coppola.
Enjoys singing and sang in the films Drive Thru (2007), Country Strong (2010) and The Orville: Lasting Impressions (2019).
Is a natural blonde, but dyed her hair brunette for the role of Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl (2007).
Was named one of People magazine's "100 Most Beautiful" in 2008.
Was ranked #48 on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2008" list.
Has a younger brother named Lex Meester (born 1994).
Attended Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, California.
Is fluent in French.
Enjoys creative writing.
Was ranked #12 on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2009" list.
Was ranked #1 on FHM magazine's "Fall TV's Hottest Stars" list in 2008.
Was ranked #17 on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2010" list.
Grew up in Marco Island, Florida.
Her mother served a federal prison sentence for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States in 1983. She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nursed her for three months in a halfway house, before returning to complete the 16 months left on her sentence. At this time, Leighton's grandparents cared for her.
Moved to Los Angeles, California at 14. She attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School. She then transferred to a small private school and graduated a year early.
Was in a relationship with her former Gossip Girl (2007) co-star Sebastian Stan from May 2008 to April 2010.
Has been included on The Independent Critics' list of "100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces". She ranked #21 in 2008, #14 in 2009, #4 in 2010, #36 in 2011, and #76 in 2012.
Her best friend is actress Emmy Rossum.
Has a dog named Trudy.
In March 2010, she met Adam Brody while filming The Oranges (2011) and later they started dating. In November 2013, they got engaged. The couple was married in a private ceremony on February 15, 2014.
On October 28, 2014, she released her first album, "Heartstrings".
Mother, with husband Adam Brody, of daughter Arlo Day Brody (b. August 4, 2015).
Has one tattoo, a purple-blue flower with a yellow center, on her left wrist.
Buys many of her clothes at garage sales and second hand stores.
Leighton and Adam welcomed their second child, a boy whose name has not been revealed yet, in September 2020.
Her mothers maiden name is also Dutch: Haas means rabbit. Emmy Rossums last name is coincidentally also a Dutch name (from a dutch village called Rossum).
Trademarks:
Big doe eyes
Quotes
I don't want to do drugs. I don't want to have to start over a million times. I want to have an abundance of good things in my life, and I want it to spread out evenly -- I don't want it to come and go.
I want to do so many things -- and maybe someday a lot of it will be impossible, but right now I don't see the impossible.
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.
I was picked on because I was a four-eyes and a dork. We didn't have a ton of money so I couldn't say, "Mom, I need to have these crazy expensive jeans." I had long tangled hair and wore hemp necklaces, baggy T-shirts and not-so-cute jeans. I mean, for crying out loud, we were just going to throw on gym clothes and run around the track! I've grown up as far as the fashion world goes, but I still identify with the high school me.
I really came to realize -- and it's the best advice that will come out of the end of this show -- that high school is not the end, it is not the best, it is not the only. You will have a whole life afterward, if you're lucky. If you're unlucky, then the only thing you'll ever feel is how fun it is at your prom.
I love New York. You're never alone, but you're always on your own.
I don't want to have a friend unless I can call them one of my best friends.
I think the most wonderful thing about her [Audrey Hepburn] is that she set a lot of trends and they were all about being modern yet having your own kind of look because you can be stylish and trendy all you want but, at the end of the day, it's about what you feel amazing in.
If you're just yourself, you'll never lose. I want to be myself. That's when you feel the most comfortable, that's when you have the most success, and that's when you're the most happy.
[on her mother's criminal past] It made me realize that you can't judge anyone -- especially your parents -- for what they've done in their past, because people change.
