Leighton Meester: From Prison Birth to Hollywood Stardom

She entered the world under circumstances few children could ever understand.

Her mother was serving time in a federal prison when she was born. Her father had also been involved in criminal activity. Before she was old enough to understand any of it, instability had already become part of her story.

Yet the little girl at the center of that complicated beginning would eventually become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actresses.