Marie Claire, “Leighton Meester: Drama Queen” (March 13, 2012, by Allison Glock) — primary source for direct quotes: “My family has a crazy history — probably the craziest I’ve heard of”; “I look back now and I see it in a nice light — it wasn’t uncomplicated. But I played outside”; “I went to the beach. There were happy, fun times”; “You can take what is handed to you and use it as an excuse to mess up. But I’ve always handled what was given to me by life. I consider myself lucky”; “I was never lied to. And I was loved”; “I worked a lot, even though I was just a kid. It seemed normal to me”; “I couldn’t relate to kid stuff. ‘Jimmy doesn’t like me!’ Who cares? I was worried we didn’t have gas money or food. Those were my concerns”; skipped prom “It was a lot of money for a ticket”; attended modeling convention in Atlanta at 10 years old; New York rentals West Village and Inwood; commercials Bloomingdale’s and Stern’s and Limited Too; moved to LA at 14 near Hollywood and La Brea.
PORTER magazine (Net-a-Porter), “Leighton Meester” cover story (September 21, 2018, by Jennifer Dickinson) — source for: “I was young when I started Gossip Girl. A lot more people were suddenly around and I was being looked at”; “I’m not haunted by that time, but it’s been interesting and helpful for me to look at it and examine it as an adult”; “I don’t know if it was the healthiest environment”; “Because of the success of that show, I was put in a place where that journey was sped up”; “I had to figure it out quickly and with not a completely developed mind to discern between what’s real and what’s not”; “I got really lucky and was able to very early on find and stay friends with people who are true”; “I am a mother”; did not confirm quotes about her mother directly in this article but background context confirmed.