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Leighton Meester
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| Leighton Meester | |
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| Born | Leighton Marissa Claire Meester April 9, 1986 Texas |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1999-present |
Leighton Marissa Claire Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress and aspiring Singer-Songwriter, best known for her role as Blair Waldorf in the TV show Gossip Girl.1 Her first acting role on a television program was on NBC's legal drama Law & Order in 1999.2 Other series in which Meester has appeared include Surface, Entourage, CSI: Miami,3 8 Simple Rules, 24,4 7th Heaven,5 and House.6
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Early life
Meester's parents, Connie and Doug, were involved in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States. Both were convicted for their involvement in the ring, and Connie was released on bail. While out, Connie became pregnant, and once she was convicted, she spent her pregnancy in a Texas state prison. Leighton was delivered in a Texas hospital, and Connie was allowed to live with Leighton in a half-way house for three months. Connie was sentenced to ten years in prison, and once her three months with Leighton were up, her newborn was sent to live with a relative.7 After sixteen months of her sentence, Connie was released and resumed her role in her newborn's life.8 Leighton has always been adamant in maintaining that she has no hard feelings towards her parents for what they did in the past, and she has repeatedly said that her mother Connie is one of her best friends.
In Teen Vogue, Meester stated: "It is a little bit hard to have people come up to me and say, 'So, you were born in jail.' And I know that they might think that someone with that sort of history would be crazy. But I'm not. That has nothing to do with me."
Career
Meester became interested in acting when she appeared in a local production of The Wizard of Oz. When she was eleven, she moved with her family to New York City and soon after began working as a model with Wilhelmina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Webber and working with then-photographer Sofia Coppola.2
Other roles include a role as Savannah Barnett on Surface. She has guest starred as Debbie Pendleton on Season 4 of the FOX drama 24,4 as Ali, an underage teenager who has a crush on Dr. House in episode 3 and 4 of Season 3 of the FOX drama, House6, as Carrie Bishop on Season 1 of the UPN drama Veronica Mars and Chandler's new girlfriend Kendall in Season 8 of the WB drama 7th Heaven, as well as the role of Justine Chapin in Season 1 of the HBO comedy Entourage. Meester made her film debut in the feature Hangman's Curse, based on the best-selling novel by Frank Peretti. She was also in Numb3rs as Karen Camden.
She recently starred in the independent comic-thriller Flourish with House co-stars Jennifer Morrison and Jesse Spencer.
In 2006, she wrapped the female lead role in the comedy/horror film Drive-Thru.5 She has also recorded a song for the soundtrack of Drive-Thru. In the spring of 2006, she played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama entitled Remember the Daze.
Currently, Meester stars as Blair Waldorf in The CW series Gossip Girl, from Josh Schwartz, creator of The O.C.. The show is based on the book series about the lives of New York's privileged Upper East Side high school students. Meester has stated in interviews that she identifies with Blair "on every level, in one way or another," and her performance has been met with critical acclaim.9 She has also recently guest starred on CSI: Miami3 and has a recurring role on James Woods' court drama Shark. When not on the set, Meester, who attended Beverly Hills High School, pursues her talent for music and creative writing. She currently resides in the West Village, New York.2
She has worked with actress Kristen Bell on two TV series. In Gossip Girl, Bell provides the voice of Gossip Girl and Leighton plays Blair Waldorf, and in Veronica Mars, which starred Bell, Leighton appeared briefly as gossip queen Carrie Bishop. Additionally, she has worked with fellow Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley in her previous lead role film Drive-Thru, where Penn played Val Espinoza.
She reprised her role of Justine Chapin on Entourage in season five.
She is going to be the new face of Reebok, making her the second member of the Gossip Girl cast to endorse sneakers (Ed Westwick is endorsing K-Swiss).citation needed
She is currently dating actor Sebastian Stan, whom guest starred on Gossip Girl as Carter Baizen.
Filmography
Films
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Hangman's Curse | Elisha Springfield |
| 2004 | Hollywood Division (TV) | Michelle |
| 2006 | Flourish | Lucy Covner |
| Inside | Josie | |
| 2007 | Drive-Thru | Mackenzie Carpenter |
| Remember the Daze | Tori | |
| The Haunting of Sorority Row (TV) | Samantha Willows | |
| 2008 | Killer Movie | Jaynie Hansen |
Television
| Year | Television Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Law & Order | Alyssa Turner |
| 2001 | Boston Public | Sarah Breen |
| 2002 | Family Affair | Irene |
| 2003 | Tarzan | Nicki Porter |
| 2004 | Crossing Jordan | Marie Strand |
| 7th Heaven | Kendall | |
| North Shore | Veronica Farrell | |
| Entourage | Justine Chapin | |
| 2005 | 24 | Debbie Pendleton |
| 8 Simple Rules | Nikki Alcott | |
| Veronica Mars | Carrie Bishop | |
| Numb3rs | Karen Camden | |
| 2005-2006 | Surface | Savannah Bennett |
| 2006 | Secrets of a Small Town | Kayla Rhodes \ Kelly Rhodes |
| House | Ali (aka House's Stalker) | |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Heather Crowley |
| Shark | Megan | |
| 2007-present | Gossip Girl | Blair Waldorf |
| 2008 | Entourage | Justine Chapin |
References
- ^ Marikar, Sheila (2007-09-19). "'Gossip Girl': Teen Drama So Adult, So Aspirational", ABC News. Retrieved on 24 January 2008.
- ^ a b c "Leighton Meester Biography". The CW Television Network (2007). Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
- ^ a b "Broken Home". CSI: Miami. CBS. 2007-02-19. No. 113.
- ^ a b "Day 4: 11:00 AM-12:00 Noon". 24. Fox. 2005-01-17.
- ^ a b Southern, Nathan (2007). "Leighton Meester - Biography". AOL Television. Allmovie. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
- ^ a b Meester has starred in the House episodes "Informed Consent" and "Lines in the Sand", according to Fox.com
- ^ Joyce Eng (2008-09-25). "Leighton Meester Opens Up About Prison Past". TV Guide. Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
- ^ "Meester More Tolerant After Mother's Prison Sentence". SFGate.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-12.
- ^ "Leighton Meester" people.com. Retrieved on 2008-10-9.