Actress, singer, and model Leighton Meester turns 40 today. The star was born on April 9, 1986, in Fort Worth, Texas.
Meester began acting in 1999, but she only had one screen credit that year, before her career really took off in the new millennium.
On the day Meester celebrates becoming a quadragenarian, let’s take a look back at her over the years, starting with what she looked like in her earliest role, all the way up to what she looks like today.
Leighton Meester’s 1999 Screen Debut
Above is a social media post with four pictures of Leighton Meester in her first screen appearance in “Law & Order” (despite the caption on the post, it was in 1999, not 1990).
Meester made just one screen appearance in 1999. It came in the “Disciple” episode of the police procedural series “Law & Order.”
The Early 2000s
Above is a social media post with three pictures of Leighton Meester in 2004.
It was the early 2000s in which Meester’s career began to take off.
On the small screen, she appeared in episodes of drama series “Boston Public,” family drama “Once and Again,” sitcom “Family Affair,” adventure-drama series “Tarzan,” crime drama series “Crossing Jordan,” family drama series “7th Heaven,” the pilot of soap opera “North Shore,” and satirical comedy-drama series “Entourage.”
On the big screen, she appeared in her first feature-length movie. That was the 2003 horror thriller “Hangman’s Curse.”
The Mid-Late 2000s
GettyMeester’s career exploded in the mid-late 2000s, with many roles on television and in movies.
On television, she continued appearing in “Entourage.” Additionally, she appeared in the likes of action drama series “24,” teen neo-noir mystery series “Veronica Mars,” medical drama “House,” and police procedural “CSI: Miami.” She also landed a main role in teen satire drama series “Gossip Girl.”
The movies she appeared in during this time included the 2006 comedy-drama “Flourish,” 2007’s dark comedy slasher “Drive-Thru,” the 2007 drama “Remember the Daze,” and the 2008 slasher “Killer Movie.”
The Early 2010s
GettyIn the early 2010s, the only television appearance Meester made was in an episode of reality series “The City.”
She did, however, appear in several movies. They included thriller “The Roommate,” rom-com “Monte Carlo,” and romantic comedy-drama “The Oranges” in 2011, 2012’s comedy “That’s My Boy,” and romantic comedy-drama “Life Partners,” legal drama “The Judge,” drama “Like Sunday, Like Rain,” and crime drama “By the Gun” in 2014.
The Mid-Late 2010s
Above is a social media post with two pictures of Leighton Meester in “The Last Man on Earth” in 2018.
Meester had a few television credits in the mid-late 2010s, starting with the television film “Zoolander: Super Model” in 2016. She also appeared in a main role in the short-lived sitcom “Making History,” an episode of the post-apocalyptic comedy “The Last Man on Earth,” the sci-fi comedy-drama “The Orville,” and embarked on a main role in sitcom “Single Parents” that would last three years.
She only appeared in one movie and that was the 2019 crime drama “Semper Fi.”
The Early 2020s
GettyIn the early 2020s, on television Meester landed a role in the “How I Met Your Mother” spin-off sitcom “How I Met Your Father.”
Movie-wise, she appeared in thriller “The Weekend Away” and the animated fantasy adventure “My Father’s Dragon” in 2022, and the thriller “River Wild” and festive rom-com “EXmas” in 2023.
Leighton Meester Today
Above is a 2026 social media post by Leighton Meester with two recent pictures of her.
Today, Leighton Meester is looking as glamorous as ever at 40.
Her most recent television roles all came in 2025. They were a main role in comedy-drama “Good Cop/Bad Cop,” minor roles in historical drama “The Buccaneers” and rom-com series “Nobody Wants This,” and a recurring role in comedy series “I Love LA.”
In 2026, she appeared in the comedy movie “Basic.”
We’d like to wish the stunning Leighton Meester the happiest of 40th birthdays. Here’s hoping she has the most amazing day celebrating.
Leighton Meester’s filmography info was courtesy of IMDb.
