Leighton Meester

  Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9 in 1986) is an American actor, singer and model. Her starring role in Gossip Girl, a series that ran on The CW from 2007 to 2012, is her most well-known. She has also appeared in films like Killer Movie (2008) and Country Strong (2010). Meester played Angie D'Amato on the ABC sitcom Single Parents (2018-2020). Meester was a Broadway star in Of Mice and Men (2014). She was in the Cobra Starship single, "Good Girls Go Bad" that climbed into the top ten of Billboard's charts. On the Universal Republic label, she released her solo singles "Somebody to Love" (2009) and"Your Love's A Drug" (2010). Meester has recorded songs for numerous soundtracks. In 2014 her first album Heartstrings was released by herself. She has also modeled as the face of Jimmy Choo, Herbal Essences, and Vera Wang brands. Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Douglas Jay Meester and Constance Lynn (nee Haas). Her father is a realtor and her mother is an author. She has two brothers who are older brothers: Douglas Logan Meester (born 1983), and younger brother Alexander "Lex" Meester (born 1994). Meester's parents were both in federal prison due to their involvement in an illegal drug ring that brought cannabis from Jamaica to the United States at the time when she was born. Constance was capable of giving birth to Leighton at a hospital and provide her with care for three months at a halfway home before going back to prison to serve her sentence. Her paternal grandparents cared for Meester throughout this time. She claims that her parents provided her with a normal upbringing and despite their criminal history she's stated that "It made me realize that you shouldn't judge anyone, especially your parents, for the things they've done in their past, because people change." She was born in Marco Island, Florida and participated in local plays. In 1992, her parents divorced.