Mum’s the word when it comes to actress Leighton Meester’s personal life.
US actress Meester is known for playing some fierce characters on television. She starred as queen bee Blair Waldorf in the cult series Gossip Girl, and now as first-wave feminist Deborah Revere in the comedy series Making History. Off-camera, she comes off just as independent.
“I think women need to be held up and supported and lauded for their achievements outside of their marital status. It definitely makes you feel more accomplished when you’re being supported for your intelligence, your character, your achievements,” she told Fox.
She would also prefer not be defined by her marital or maternal status: “Trust me, in my personal life with my friends, it’s a huge topic of conversation...when it comes to work, it’s not what makes you, you.”
Do you agree with her comments?
So far, Meester’s managed to keep tight-lipped about life with actor husband Adam Brody and daughter Arlo Day.
Meester married fellow teen drama star Brody in 2014, in a super-private ceremony. The pair are pros at staying out of the public eye. They even managed to keep the birth of their daughter under wraps for almost two month,s before the media zoned in.
They welcomed 19-month-old Arlo Day on August 4, 2015.
The 30-year-old previously spoke to Refinery29 about keeping motherhood and work separate in public: “I am very proud of that area of my life. But I’m also really proud of the show, and of the work I do.”
She also spoke about her frustration with the two-dimensional portrayal of women on television: "The excitement for a lot of people is: man and woman meet, get married, then have a baby. But in the meantime, there’s so much more to women.
“We have these flawed heroes so often leading shows. But a flawed heroine? She’s portrayed in a different way: so much more of a bitch, and if she’s older, certainly a dried up one."
Meester plays Deborah Revere in Making History. Deborah is the the gun-slinging, wood-axing, squirrel-eating, real-life daughter of American revolutionary, Paul. Her character falls for time-travelling college professor Dan, and agrees to join him in his travels.
Playing a multi-faceted comedic role was a change of pace for Meester.
“I was excited to have the chance to play a character who’s so well-rounded. I really didn’t want to play a girlfriend or a wife. I wanted to have something that I could have fun with and be a real person, as all women are. It’s so rare to find that on television."
“Deb is ahead of her time, and she’s questioning women’s place in society and how they’re treated,” she explained.
