The Gossip Girl series has made her famous and the multitude of fabulous outfits along with her down to earth attitude have won her a place in the fans’ hearts. We’re talking about Leighton Meester, of course, who graces the cover of Lucky Magazine July 2020 issue. With a new movie on the roll, a fun attitude and lots of interesting things to share, the star proves once again where all that charisma comes from.
For instance, she vividly recalls her less than glamorous, pre-Gossip Girl life. Or mainly, her attire choices: “My friend says that before the show I dressed like a homeless person. I used to buy everything at garage sales. It was hard to give up! I’d be like, ‘But this crazy sweater is amazing, and it only cost 25 cents!’ I’ve learned from Blair, though. Now I like to pepper in something designer with my usual stuff.”
Even her attitude towards makeup is not exactly what one would expect considering the boundless possibilities her current lifestyle allows. She states that she prefers the bare look: “I’ve stopped wearing makeup when I’m not working. For a while I thought I had dark circles and bad skin, and then I realized I was seeing myself that way because I didn’t recognize myself anymore without makeup. Now when I wear it, I think I look really weird!”
With the numerous levels of fame her experience didn’t seem to have a massive effect on her view on life. She remains fairly modest when it comes to talking about her achievements and makes sure not to let financial gains be her sole focus. In fact, she didn’t know she was going to be successful, she has an entirely different definition for it: “I don’t know. Yes? But you can’t count on success in this business. And anyway, being famous or rich or making a certain kind of movie – none of that means ‘success’ to me. Success to me is being happy and fulfilled, truly fulfilled, and being proud of myself and doing different things all the time. So thus far, yes, I’ve been successful.”
Aside from being lovable herself, the star tries to appreciate all her loved ones: “I love love. It’s the most intriguing universally understood emotion, and it comes in so many forms: family love, love of friends. I fall in love with everybody all the time.” As far as romantic love goes, she says she could envision herself never getting married but, if she does, she wouldn’t have a big wedding: “Yes! Especially now that I know you don’t have to be married to have children; when I was a kid I thought marriage was sex. But if I ever am in a situation where I want to be married, I don’t think I’ll have a big wedding. Hopefully it would be about something way more secure than that.”
Last but definitely not least, the star talks about her new movie, ‘That’s My Boy’, which gave her the opportunity to take a break from the roles that made her well known and experiment with something new and work with Adam Sandler, whom she greatly admires: “[‘That’s My Boy’ is] different than anything I’ve ever done before. 100 percent comedy, very funny, super-raunchy. Adam is so personable, so good to everyone. I’ve never been able to improvise my own jokes and lines before, but Adam created an environment where that could happen.”
Photo courtesy of Lucky Magazine