Leighton Meester

 ( 1986 Births ) 

Early in 2009, Meester partnered with Reebok to model their new Top Down sneakers. Apart from Gossip Girl, Meester worked with co-star Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix series camera advertisement, and both were the faces of the Korean clothing line ASK Enquired. 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. Meester provided vocals on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. In July, "Body Control" Music leak 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 the following day. She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the compilation album A Very Special Christmas 7.

Her second single, "Your Love's a Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010, and she is also featured on Stephen Jerzak's song "She Said". 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" and Jesse McCartney wrote another song. The album was produced by Polow Da Don, Harvey Mason Jr., and Spencer Nezey. Meester began working on it in March 2009 and the album was initially projected to be released in the fall of 2009, but was later delayed to early 2010. It was pushed back again to late 2010, and was ultimately shelved.

Meester had small roles in the comedies Date Night and Going the Distance. She then starred with Gwyneth Paltrow and Garrett Hedlund in the country music drama Country Strong. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe described Meester as the best part of the film, writing, "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." Claudia Puig of USA Today was also positive, stating "Meester shows she can do more than play one of Gossip Girl privileged Manhattan socialites." For the film, Meester 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". After wrapping, she received a guitar from Tim McGraw and decided to learn how to play it. 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. 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."

2010, Meester signed on to be the spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products. In the same year, she took part in Bulgari's humanitarian efforts for the Save the Children organization with Isabella Rossellini and Maribel Verdú. She next fronted a beauty campaign for Korean brand eSpoir. Vera Wang selected her to be the face of the fragrance Lovestruck in 2011, stating that Meester's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance." The next year, Meester shot a campaign for the follow-up fragrance, Lovestruck Floral Rush. Italian fashion house Missoni named Meester the face of their spring/summer 2011 campaign.

Meester next starred in the thriller film The Roommate as Rebecca Evans, an obsessive, Bipolar disorder woman. Though the film received mainly negative reviews, Meester's portrayal was praised. Entertainment Weekly found she was the only one to bring "the slightest trace of something fascinating to her role," while Los Angeles Times wrote, "Meester's 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." In the teen comedy film Monte Carlo, Meester portrayed Meg Kelly, Selena Gomez's stepsister and Katie Cassidy's friend. Movieline noted, "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 final film of the year, The Oranges, opposite Hugh Laurie and Adam Brody, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Meester's performance was again met with positive reviews, with the San Francisco Chronicle writing that she "succeeds in embodying all that is alluring and alarming about a 24-year-old woman."

In April 2012, Meester announced via Twitter a five-city tour with Check in the Dark, which started on May 29 and ended on June 4, 2012. Reflecting on her past pop collaborations, she said she "loved" them, but that folk music was "a lot closer to her heart." In May 2012, she endorsed the Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe's campaign All Stars. In June, Meester said she and the band had recorded all the songs for an album that served as a demo.

She next starred in the comedy film That's My Boy, alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Milo Ventimiglia, which was released in June 2012. The film received mainly negative reviews, was nominated for eight Golden Raspberry Awards, and was a box office failure, grossing less than $58 million, failing to recoup its production budget of $70 million. In August 2012, Meester, Wilmer Valderrama and Vanessa Curry appeared in house music group The Nomads' music video for "Addicted to Love". She was unavailable to reprise her role as Carrie Bishop in the film Veronica Mars due to scheduling issues, and was replaced by singer Andrea Estella of the band Twin Sister. In October 2013, Biotherm, a French luxury skincare company, announced Meester as its new global ambassador.

On September 9, 2014, it was announced her debut album, Heartstrings, would be released independently through her own label, Hotly Wanting, on October 28. With its style compared to ethereal singer-songwriters such as Tori Amos and Joni Mitchell, the nine-song LP was written by Meester and produced by Jeff Trott. The music video for the eponymous title track "Heartstrings" was released on October 29.

In 2015, Meester embarked on a tour to support the album, which began on January 6 in Los Angeles, California and ended on March 2 in San Francisco, California. Later that year, she appeared in advertisements for the Malaysian fashion brand Jimmy Choo. Meester was one of the 100 celebrity narrators featured in the documentary Unity, which had a limited theatrical release. In March 2016, she was cast in Fox's comedy series Making History as Deborah Revere, a colonial woman from 1775 and the daughter of American artisan Paul Revere. The series was cancelled after one season of nine episodes.

In 2022, she appeared in a recurring role of Meredith in How I Met Your Father, starred in the thriller film The Weekend Away, and voiced a role in the animated film My Father's Dragon. She then starred in the holiday film EXmas (2023). In October 2024, she was announced to be joining the cast of The Buccaneers for season two.

Meester has been volunteering with the non-profit organization Feeding America since 2017. During her first two years working with Feeding America, she has volunteered at Los Angeles' Downtown Women's Center and assisted with relief efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Meester and Adam Brody also worked with children at Para Los Niños Charter School in Los Angeles, where they helped the organization serve lunches to children. In January 2019, she participated in Feeding America's campaign with Subway and Shamrock Farms.

In May 2019, Meester worked together with Feeding America and Los Angeles Food Bank to help families in need. "Together, we helped fill grocery baskets for families who lined up to receive important staples, like fruit, rice and cereal," Meester wrote in an Instagram post.

In 2021, to encourage donations to help people with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome, Leighton Meester started promoting meetings on the Omaze network ("Win a Coffee Date with Leighton Meester").

Meester has graced the cover of numerous international fashion magazines, including US' Lucky, Flaunt, Shape, Nylon, Allure, Teen Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Rolling Stone; Indonesia's Elle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and CosmoGirl; UK's Company and InStyle; Morocco's L'Officiel; Australia's Cleo; Mexico's GQ and Seventeen; Russia's Elle Girl and Joy and Italy's Glamour. She has appeared in commercials and print ads throughout her career. She has appeared in print ads for Missoni, Reebok, Herbal Essences, Vera Wang and Jimmy Choo. In 2013, she worked as a global brand ambassador for skin care company Biotherm. In 2022 she became the face for the luxury fashion retail platform Farfetch.

Meester is popular on social media and endorses products such as beauty and wellness products on Instagram. She has 6.9 million followers on Instagram, and 1.5 million followers on Twitter as of February 2024. She has partnered with several brands, including Shamrock Farms, Nexxus New York Salon and Sunglass Hut.

In court, the judge dismissed this claim. Constance accused her daughter of calling social services and fabricating a claim that she was abusing Alexander; investigators interviewed Meester and found no merit in the complaint. In November 2011, Constance dropped the $3 million claim for damages. Meester said that she would be willing to pay for her brother's medical expenses as well as his school tuition, but denied that she agreed to pay $10,000 each month, which she stated was a "ridiculous" claim. Meester obtained a default judgment on December 7, 2011. In June 2012, Meester won the lawsuit, with the judge rejecting the claims in her mother's Counterclaim.

• Leighton Meester + Check in the Dark Summer Tour (2012)
• Heartstrings Tour (2015)