Leighton Meester

Leighton: (On Audrey Hepburn) I think the most wonderful thing about her is that she set a lot of trends and they were all about being modern yet having your own kind of look because you can be stylish and trendy all you want, but at the end of the day it's about what you feel amazing in.

Leighton: (On how she shares the same old Hollywood fascination with her "Gossip Girl" character, Blair) I really love old movies and I love movies with Bette Davis and her kind of and look. I love that time period. Because of the show, I've fallen in love with Audrey Hepburn. Blair wants to live the fantasy life of Breakfast at Tiffany's or My Fair Lady, so I've gotten to see a lot of the fashion.

Leighton: I've never been crazy. I'm a very good girl, to be honest. I don't do anything that would hurt anybody. Honestly, all I ever do is work.

(from Cosmo Girl! Interview)
Rachel Chang (Entertainment Editor): Could it ("Gossip Girl") be Blair?
Leighton: It could be, it could be. I mean, it's Veronica Mars.

Leighton: Everyone has their dog on the set of Gossip Girl. We have a trailer and on the actual stages we have a makeup room and the dogs hang out in there. There are like six or seven dogs at a time.

Leighton: (On "Gossip Girl") It's mature, but I feel like it speaks to kids and it doesn't white wash anything.

Leighton: (On her love life) I am so good at keeping it not complicated.

Leighton: (on her headbands she wears as Blair in "Gossip Girl") I love them! I love all of it! Whenever I'm getting ready to go on set and I'm in the full outfit, that's when I feel like I'm truly the character. I love the school uniform, and of course headbands are always in style when it comes to the show.

Leighton: (on experimenting with her hair color) I dyed it every color. I dyed it fire engine red and that didn't work out. It also had it black and red streaks.

Leighton: I went through so many phases in high school that I can't say exactly what my style was. A combination of just rolling out of bed and going to class and kind of defying my femininity by wearing sweatshirts with holes in them, never wearing heels or skirts. Also, all black almost all the time.

Leighton: I've been playing 16 or 17 [year-olds] for quite a few years - everyone does that. Hopefully I'll be playing that age for a few years. This is way more fun than high school.

Leighton: I don't feel guilty at all if I'm just lying around, one of my best guilty pleasures is doing absolutely nothing.

Leighton: People say blondes have more fun. I really don't think it's about your hair, it's about how you feel on the inside. I say it's the person who has the fun!

Leighton (on her "Gossip Girl" character, Blair): The more and more I go on I can't tell if I'm becoming more like Blair or if Blair's becoming more like me. I feel like they're writing for us. I mean I feel like I've had to put myself into her so that I like her. I couldn't play a character I didn't like or sympathize with.

Leighton: My nickname used to be Happy Feet. If I'm standing there and music is playing on set, I'll be doing this. People used to be like, 'Why are you Happy Feet? You need to stop that now.'

Leighton (on the type of songs on her upcoming CD): [On] some of them I just talk, I do a little – not rapping – but talking, sort of spoken word. It's a little Fergie, a little like Gwen Stefani and M.I.A..

Leighton (on spiteful gossip): I've learned to let things roll off my back. If people say negative things, I could care less, but I let it give me a boost of confidence if they're saying nice things.

Leighton: The only way to play Blair, or any character, and make her human, is to find what she is inside me, and I know I have my insecurities, too.

Leighton (on "Gossip Girl
"): I think the show will be relatable to lots of girls and even grown women, and a guilty pleasure for guys!

Leighton (on waiting in her trailer to shoot): Like they say: The acting is for free. I get paid to wait.

Leighton (on saying mean things when she's portraying Blair on "Gossip Girl"): I actually really like it, I shouldn't enjoy it so much.

Leighton (about her younger brother having a brain tumor): When something like that happens, it's meant to show you that something so special, so important can be taken from you so easily.