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Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986) is an American actress and singer.
Leighton gained fame for playing the role of Blair Waldorf in the CW young-adult television series Gossip Girl.
She most recently appeared in the 2010 country drama film Country Strong and the 2011 thriller The Roommate. Leighton was born in Fort Worth, Texas, the daughter of Constance (née Haas) and Douglas Meester.
She grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a local playhouse.
When she was 11 years old, Leighton and her mother moved to New York.
She 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.
Leighton made her television acting debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of Law & Order.
At 14, Leighton 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. Leighton's last name is a Dutch name which means "master" or "teacher." • Acting After her television debut in 1999 playing Alyssa Turner in Law & Order, she 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.
Leighton 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, Leighton began a regular role in the series Surface as Savannah Bennet.
Ahe appeared in two more 2006 movies, Flourish and Inside.
She also guest appeared in Numb3rs and in three 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, Leighton 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 is 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. Leighton 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. Leighton had small roles in the 2010 comedies Date Night and Going The Distance.
She starred in Screen Gems' 2010 country drama Country Strong and the 2011 thriller The Roommate.
She is set to star in The Uncatchable Cowgirl Bandits of Nottingham, Texas alongside Amber Heard; in the indie dramatic comedy The Oranges opposite Hugh Laurie; and will star next to Selena Gomez and Katie Cassidy in the young femme comedy Monte Carlo, loosely based on Jules Bass's young-adult book Headhunters.
Leighton also joined the cast of the comedy I Hate You, Dad, alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Milo Ventimiglia. • Music In April 2009, Leighton signed a recording contract with Universal Republic.
Her 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. Leighton is featured on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #7, and 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…