She Started Working at 10 and Later Sued Her Mother — Now She’s a Mom of Two and Married to Her Former Co-Star

The famous public figure managed to carve out a successful career as a prominent actress in the entertainment industry, overcoming challenges she faced in the past.

A certain Hollywood star, known for her roles in iconic TV and film productions, had a surprising start in life and entered the workforce at a very early age.

She has previously opened up about her familial past in past interviews. This actress, whose home was unfortunately destroyed by the Palisades Fire earlier this year (2025), also developed a music career.

Though her beginnings were anything but conventional, the young starlet wasted no time in chasing her dreams.

After spending her earliest years in the care of her grandparents on Florida's Marco Island, she found her first taste for performance in a local production of "The Wizard of Oz" — a seemingly modest start that would foreshadow a dazzling career ahead. At a young age, she had already taken a major leap, relocating to New York City with her mother.

There, she began working professionally as a model and soon appeared in television commercials. Her determination didn't stop at the East Coast. Years later, she and her mother moved once again — this time to Los Angeles, where the rising talent began booking steady work in television.

Her first appearance came in the late '90s "Law & Order" episode "Disciple," and what followed was a stream of roles that kept her firmly on casting directors' radars.

The famous actress at the premiere of "Holes" in 2003. | Source: Getty Images

Still, it wasn't until 2007 that her breakthrough came, thanks to a complex and unforgettable character on a hit teen drama series that would define an era.

While her professional ascent seemed almost cinematic, the truth behind her beginnings tells a far more layered and compelling story — one marked by resilience forged in unlikely circumstances.

The Hollywood star at the Vogue and XOXO premiere of the XOXO Spring 2004 Collection in 2003. | Source: Getty Images

Before gracing TV screens, the future star's life began under extraordinary conditions. She was born in a Texas federal prison while her mother served time for drug trafficking — a reality she has never shied away from acknowledging.

Though delivered in a hospital, she spent her first few months in a halfway house before being placed in the care of her grandmother, who would raise her during the duration of her mother's 16-month sentence. The shadows of that time extended beyond her mother.

The actress at the worldwide DVD Debut of "The Lion King" in 2003. | Source: Getty Images

Her father, too, was entangled in a drug ring, one that reportedly trafficked over 1,200 pounds of marijuana into the United States from Jamaica. He would also serve time before eventually parting ways with her mother in the early '90s. Yet, despite the chaos of her earliest years, the star has always chosen to speak about her past with a striking level of grace and maturity.

"It makes me very nonjudgmental and open-minded. And I think it just makes me appreciate the things that I have now," she told Us Weekly in a candid 2008 interview.

Reflecting on her mother, she added, "She's always there for me no matter what. I swear, that woman knows everything." In later reflections, the actress was even more forthright about the nature of her upbringing. "My family has a crazy history. Probably the craziest I've heard of," she once remarked.

And yet, she has never painted her childhood as tragic or deprived. Her memories of growing up in Marco Island are surprisingly warm. "It wasn't uncomplicated," she admitted, "but I played outside. I went to the beach. There were happy, fun times."

Even as she processed a chaotic beginning, the budding star never lost sight of her ambition — a drive that surfaced astonishingly early. By the age of ten, while most kids were preoccupied with homework or playground politics, she was already making life-altering decisions. A modeling convention in Atlanta during a Christmas break set the stage for everything that would follow.

An agent recognized her potential instantly and whisked her off to New York City. "I ended up staying. I never went back to Florida," she once explained. "That was that."

From there, her path took a gritty turn — not unusual for someone so young navigating a city as formidable as Manhattan. She and her mother bounced between dodgy apartments in the West Village and then the northern reaches of Inwood. Despite the instability, she began booking commercials for major retailers like Bloomingdale's and the Limited Too, working steadily while still in elementary school.

"I worked a lot, even though I was just a kid. It seemed normal to me," she divulged, recalling a schedule that would intimidate most adults.

At 14, she made another bold leap — this time to Los Angeles for pilot season. With financial support from her grandfather and what she earned through modeling, she and her mother settled in a modest apartment near Hollywood Boulevard. It wasn't glamor that drove her — it was survival. Acting classes became her haven, especially those filled with adults rather than kids her own age.

While other teens were tangled in social drama, she remained acutely aware of real-world stakes. "'Jimmy doesn't like me!' Who cares?" she once said about not being able to relate to the average kids' concerns. "I was worried we didn't have gas money or food. Those were my concerns."

Her laser focus left little room for distractions. No prom. No parties. No young love. "It was a lot of money for a ticket. And I just didn't care that much," she admitted.

Instead, her eyes stayed locked on the future she envisioned — one she intended to claim no matter the obstacles. "When you see how you react when you suffer," she reflected, "that's when you know what you are made of."

That unrelenting drive would pay off in a major way by the time she turned 19. After auditioning for a TV adaptation of Cecily von Ziegesar's best-selling teen novels, she landed the role that would define a generation and skyrocket her to global fame — Blair Waldorf in "Gossip Girl." The actress? None other than Leighton Meester.

The show was an instant hit, and Meester, along with co-stars Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, and Ed Westwick, quickly became part of pop culture royalty. But the rapid rise came with complications.

"I was young when I started 'Gossip Girl.' A lot more people were suddenly around and [sic] I was being looked at," she later reflected. "If you don't have the right perspective, you could definitely be confused by people being that nice to you or judging you for behavior that's typical of a 20, 21-year-old [...] I don't know if it was the healthiest environment."

The demands of the show were intense — filming 16-hour days, five days a week, for six years — and Meester often found herself emotionally stretched.

"Everyone has their own journey [...] Because of the success of that show, I was put in a place where that journey was sped up. I had to figure it out quickly and with not a completely developed mind to discern between what's real and what's not," she admitted.

Despite the pressure, she views the experience with clarity and appreciation, "It was so special and such a unique, amazing experience, but no, I wouldn't wanna go back to it. I was a kid!"

While "Gossip Girl" placed Meester firmly in the Hollywood spotlight, her creative ambitions didn't stop at acting. Parallel to her television success, she also began exploring the music industry — a space where she briefly flirted with mainstream pop stardom before finding a voice that truly felt like her own.

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, she released several singles, including the catchy "Somebody to Love" and "Your Love's a Drug," both of which garnered millions of streams on Spotify and attention from fans who admired her versatility.

But despite the buzz, Meester admits the experience wasn't entirely fulfilling. "I just didn't feel like I sang that well in those songs," she confessed. "That's why I stopped doing that style of songwriting, because I didn't feel really good when I would sing it. That was something that I figured out in my 20s."

Rather than chase fleeting fame with flashy brand deals or trend-driven collabs, Meester chose to pull back and reassess. In 2014, she released "Heartstrings," a more authentic album that better reflected her artistic identity.

Today, she continues to enjoy a steady fan base on streaming platforms, with over 176,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, and standout tracks like "Give In to Me" surpassing 34 million plays.

​​Away from the spotlight, Meester's personal life has not been without turmoil — particularly when it came to her relationship with her mother.

In 2011, the actress filed a lawsuit against her, claiming that the $7,500 she had been sending monthly to support her younger brother — a cancer survivor who had undergone brain surgery — was instead being used for cosmetic procedures such as Botox, hair extensions, and plastic surgery. "Her only concern has always been taking care of her brother," a source close to the star shared at the time.

In response, Meester's mother countersued, alleging breach of contract and claiming she had sacrificed everything to support her daughter's acting dreams. Her suit even accused Meester of physical assault — claims the actress firmly denied.

According to Meester's own filings, her mother was healthy and capable of working but chose not to, expecting to be financially supported instead. Despite the conflict, the actress maintained that she would continue to cover her brother's medical insurance and educational costs.

The legal battle, which stretched into 2012, ended in Meester's favor. A judge ruled that there was no binding agreement that required the actress to financially support her mother, effectively dismissing her mom's claims. Meester never sought to recover the misused funds — she simply wanted legal clarity and peace. And in the end, she got exactly that.

Amid the upheaval of her early adulthood, Meester eventually found a different kind of grounding — one rooted in love, partnership, and family. In a characteristically private move, she married fellow actor Adam Brody in an intimate, secret ceremony just months after news of their engagement surfaced.

The two had worked together on "The Oranges" in 2011 and quietly began dating not long after. By early 2014, they were husband and wife.

Now parents to two children — a daughter and son — Meester describes motherhood as a transformative experience. "It's all just so intimate and private," she disclosed. "It certainly has made me reflect on my own upbringing and childhood." That reflection has fueled her desire to build something different for her own kids: a foundation of stability, gratitude, and presence.

Her priorities have shifted as well, with family life influencing the professional choices she now makes. "There's been a lot of stuff that I haven't done because I want to be with them [...] I don't like being away from them," she shared candidly.

Whether filming overseas or juggling offers, Meester makes it clear — family comes first. "I just feel like being in the moment and figuring it out as I go along, because that's all we can do, you know?" the actress stated.

Despite the peace she has built with her family, life has continued to test Meester in unexpected ways. Earlier this year (2025), she and Brody were among the many Los Angeles residents affected by the devastating Palisades Fire — the most destructive in the city's history.

The fire consumed their Pacific Palisades home, which the couple had purchased in 2019, reducing years of memories to ash.

Media of the property, engulfed in flames, painted a heartbreaking picture. While the couple had not publicly commented on the loss, the silence feels consistent with Meester's long-standing desire to protect what matters most — her home, her family, and the quiet strength she's cultivated after years in the public eye.