Leighton Meester Biography

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress and singer. Meester starred as Blair Waldorf in the CW's teen drama television series Gossip Girl, garnering attention and critical acclaim. 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 2012 comedies That's My Boy and The Oranges.

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 has been working since 2010.

Early life

Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance (née Haas) and Douglas Meester, and lived most of her life in New York City and Los Angeles. Meester's last name is the Dutch word for "master" or "teacher". 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 (now film maker) 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 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 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.

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 reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at No. 7, and she is also featured on Stephen Jerzak's song "She Said". She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" 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 would serve 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".

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 (and Hotties) 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 cross-claim 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 ending in 2012, Meester moved from New York City to Los Angeles. She purchased a house in Encino, Los Angeles in September 2011.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	'	Lorraine	Short film
2003	Hangman's Curse	Elisha Springfield
2006	Flourish	Lucy Covner
2006	Inside	Josie
2007	Drive-Thru	Mackenzie Carpenter
2007	Remember the Daze	Tori
2007	'	Samantha Willows	Television film
2008	Killer Movie	Jaynie Hansen
2010	Date Night	Katy
2010	Going the Distance	Amy
2010	Country Strong	Chiles Stanton
2011	'	Rebecca Evans
2011	Monte Carlo	Mary Margaret "Meg" Kelly
2011	'	Nina Ostroff
2012	That's My Boy	Jamie
2013	God Only Knows	Ali Matazano	Post-production
2013	Any Tom, Dick, or Harry	Barbara	Post-production
2014	'	Carla	Filming
2014	Life Partners	Sasha	Filming
2014	Like Sunday, Like Rain	Eleanor	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Law & Order	Alyssa Turner	Episode: "Disciple"
2001	Boston Public	Sarah Breen	Episode: "Chapter Twenty-Eight"
2002	Once and Again	Amanda	Episode: "Gardenia"
2002	Family Affair	Irene	Episode: "No Small Parts"
2003	'	Tanni	Unsold Fox pilot
2003	Tarzan	Nicki Porter	Main cast
2004	Hollywood Division	Michelle Nichols	Unsold Fox pilot
2004	Crossing Jordan	Marie Strand	Episode: "Missing Pieces"
2004	7th Heaven	Kendall	2 episodes
2004	North Shore	Veronica Farrell	Episode: "Pilot"
2004, 2008	Entourage	Justine Chapin	3 episodes
2005	24	Debbie Pendleton	4 episodes
2005	Veronica Mars	Carrie Bishop	2 episodes
2005	8 Simple Rules	Nikki	Episode: "The After Party"
2005"2006	Surface	Savannah Barnett	Main cast
2006	Monster Allergy	Poppy (voice)	Episode #1.1
2006	Secrets of a Small Town	Kayla Rhodes	Episode: "Pilot"
2006	Numb3rs	Karen Camden	Episode: "Dark Matter"
2006	House	Ali	2 episodes
2007	CSI: Miami	Heather Crowley	Episode: "Broken Home"
2007	Shark	Megan	3 episodes
2007"2012	Gossip Girl	Blair Waldorf	Main cast

Discography

Singles

As main artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	US Heat.	UKN
"Somebody to Love" (featuring Robin Thicke)	2009	111	13	10	non-album songs
"Your Love's a Drug"	2011	119	14	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

As featuring artist

List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US	AUS	AUT	BEL	CAN	FIN	NL	NZL	UK	UKN
"Good Girls Go Bad" (Cobra Starship featuring Leighton Meester)	2009	7	5	37	4	7	13	19	2	17	6	RIAA: 2"? Platinum ARIA: Gold MC: Platinum RIANZ: Platinum	Hot Mess
"She Said" (Stephen Jerzak featuring Leighton Meester)	2010	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?		Miles and Miles
""?" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Promotional singles

Title	Year	Album
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)"	2009	A Very Special Christmas 7

Other charted songs

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions				Album
		US	US Heat.	US Country Digital	CAN
"Give In to Me" (with Garrett Hedlund)	2011	79	"?	7	94	Country Strong
"Summer Girl"		"?	15	17	"?
"Words I Couldn't Say"		"?	25	24	"?
""?" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Other appearances

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Inside the Black"	2007		Drive-Thru
"Birthday"	2009	Awesome New Republic	Rational Geographic Vol. I
"A Little Bit Stronger"	2010		Country Strong

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama	Gossip Girl
2008	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Breakout Star Female	Gossip Girl
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama	Gossip Girl
2009	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Pop Video	"Good Girls Go Bad" (with Cobra Starship)
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress Drama	Gossip Girl
2010	Hollywood Awards	Spotlight Award	Country Strong
2011	MTV Movie Awards	Best Villain	The Roommate
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress Drama	Country Strong
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Villain	The Roommate
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress: Drama	Gossip Girl
2012	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer Movie Star Female	That's My Boy
2013	Golden Raspberry Awards	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple	That's My Boy
2013	Golden Raspberry Awards	Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Ensemble	That's My Boy