Best Known As: Television Actor

Gist:  Leighton Marissa Claire Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress and singer-songwriter, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the TV show Gossip Girl and to a lesser extent, her role in the TV series Entourage.

Life Facts:  Leighton Meester was born in Marco Island, Florida to Connie and Doug Meester. Although her mother Connie was serving time in prison for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States, Connie was able to give birth to Meester in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house before returning to prison to complete her sentence. Meester maintains 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 grew up in Marco Island, Florida where she participated in productions at a local playhouse and choir at church. Meester decided early on that it was what she wanted to do with her life then. When she was 10 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York in hopes of getting her career started. Meester attended the Professional Children's School and even began working as a model with Wilhemina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Weber and working with then photographer (now film maker) Sofia Coppola. After deciding that modeling wasn't for her, Meester was keen on acting and made her debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of Law & Order. At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California wanting more staple work and attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School. She then transferred to a small private school in Hawaii and graduated from high school a year early.



Leighton Meester currently resides in New York City. In her free time, she enjoys writing, reading, dancing, and "doing nothing." She occasionally keeps fans updated with messages on Twitter and it is the only social networking service she personally uses that her representation has confirmed.

In June 2009, there were reports of an alleged sex tape, featuring an 18-year old Meester, being shopped around by an old boyfriend with an asking price up to $1 million.

According to actor Sebastian Stan, who guest stars on Gossip Girl, he and Meester are dating.

Career Facts:  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. Meester also appeared in Tarzan, which only lasted for eight episodes. Meester started to land guest roles in other series such as, Crossing Jordan, 7th Heaven, a recurring role as the Britney Spears-like singer Justine Chapin on the hit series Entourage, 24 and Veronica Mars.

In 2005 Meester scored a regular role in the series Surface. She played Savannah Bennet, big sister of Miles Bennett. The show ran for 15 episodes. In 2006 Surface stopped airing and Meester appeared in two more movies, Flourish and Inside. She also guest appeared in Numb3rs and in two episodes of House M.D as Ali, an underage girl who has a crush on House.

After a guest role on CSI: Miami, a recurring role on the James Woods court drama Shark, and appearing as the female lead in the comedy/horror film Drive-Thru, Meester scored a regular role in the CW's hit show Gossip Girl, playing the rich and scheming Blair Waldorf. The show is based on the book series about the lives of New York's privileged Upper East Side high school students. Her performance has been met with critical acclaim and TV Guide also ranked Blair Waldorf among its "Best-Dressed TV Characters of 2007.

Meester appeared on the television film The Haunting of Sorority Row, and played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama Remember the Daze, released on April, 2008. She also appeared on the horror/thriller film Killer Movie, released in the United States also on April 2008 during the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.

In April 2009, it was announced Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic. Recently, a song off her debut album, "Body Control" leaked, generating positive reviews from fans as she maintains the "electro-pop edge" that keeps her current with current musical trends. She has recently confirmed on her twitter page that she was not expecting anyone to hear "Body Control" yet but was pleased with the positive reviews. Meester is also featured in the Cobra Starship song "Good Girls Go Bad", the first single from their upcoming third studio album Hot Mess. The song was digitally released on May 11, 2009, it reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #10.

Meester will play Rebecca in the upcoming film The Roommate. It has also been announced that she will appear in the upcoming comedy, Date Night, alongside Steve Carell and Tina Fey.

Aside from acting and music, Meester has also endorsed several brands before and since she shot to fame in Gossip Girl. She appeared in commercials for Clearasil{cite news|url= and in 2009, in ads for Reebok.{cite news|url= More recently, she and Gossip Girl co-star Ed Westwick were named the new faces for the Korean clothing line ASK Enquired.{{cite news|url=