onengine.com

Leighton Meester's upbringing was nothing like that of her "Gossip Girl" character Blair Waldorf. The actress was born in prison while her mother was serving time for smuggling marijuana.
As Us Weekly reports in its latest issue, on newsstands now, her mom Connie was pregnant with Leighton when she entered federal prison in Texas. At 29, she gave birth while she was just beginning her sentence following a conviction for her involvement with a drug ring that smuggled 1,200-pound shipments of marijuana into the United States from Jamaica. Her father, Doug, also served time for being part of the smuggling operation. Today, Doug works in construction and Connie is a screenwriter.

"It makes me very nonjudgmental and open-minded," the 22-year-old tells Us. "And I think it just makes me appreciate the things that I have now."

"She's always there for me no matter what," Meester tells Us. "I swear, that woman knows everything."