She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house, before returning to prison to complete her sentence, after which Leighton’s grandmother cared for her. Meester has maintained 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 has joked, “Look, I could’ve turned out a lot worse.” She has cited her mother as her style icon. in July 2011, she and her mother filed lawsuits against each other regarding Meester’s financial support of her younger brother, who has multiple health problems. She had guest roles on CSI: Miami and Shark, and played the female lead in the horror film Drive-Thru. She also appeared in the horror/thriller film Killer Movie in 2008. in April 2009, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic. Meester 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”.

January: The ‘Om’ Stretch Jones heads to a prenatal yoga class in Los Angeles. Plus: Tom Brady, Kirstie Alley, Leighton Meester and more [link]

Meester grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a local playhouse. When she was 11 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York City. At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California, wanting more stable work, and attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School. in 2007, Meester was cast in the CW’s teen drama series Gossip Girl as Blair Waldorf.

Leighton Meester Is Getting Around! Juggling Two Men At Once! Are you ready for some juicy gossip about this Gossip Girl star??? Wait till you hear this!Us Weekly reports that Leighton Meester had quite a busy weekend. On Sunday, girlfriend was spotted “making out” with her Country Strong costar Garret Hedlund at the Sunset Marquis. Umph! Jealous! Such a sexpot!THEN, at a dinner party the [...] [link]