Leighton Meester Looks Nearly Unrecognizable Without Her Signature Brunette Hair

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Leighton Meester made a name for herself as a confident brunette; namely through her role as the poised and polished Blair Waldorf on "Gossip Girl." But, much like her equally style conscious co-star Blake Lively, who has had some iconic hair looks – Leighton Meester's tresses have evolved through her career. In fact, in 2018, the actor ditched her signature dark 'do, instead trying a much lighter shade.

As part of Meester's jaw-dropping transformation since "Gossip Girl," she shared a gorgeous Instagram selfie sporting a platinum blond, shoulder-skimming cut that made her nearly unrecognizable. For one, her strands were several shades lighter and multiple inches shorter. Her luminescent blond (which became a big glow-up trend in 2024) look had fans comparing her to Gwen Stefani, with one person commenting, "Yop! Gwen Stefani sister!" Another wrote, "Gwen Stefani vibes!" The actor offered an update on how her blond transformation was holding up on Instagram 10 days later when she posted a stunning, makeup-free selfie showing her voluminous, newly lightened locks curled. "Still platinum and healthy," she captioned it.

The "Good Girls Go Bad" hitmaker explained to PopSugar of her radical new 'do, "I recently cut my hair, and thought, 'I just want the exact opposite of what I have. I want to try something completely drastic and different,' and I thought this is the right moment to do it." She used the Nexxus Keraphix Masque for Damaged Hair to keep her locks healthy during the transition.

Though Leighton Meester found fame as a brunette, it's a little known fact that she was born blond. Josh Schwartz, the co-creator of "Gossip Girl," explained to The Hollywood Reporter that Meester wore her natural shade when she auditioned for the teen drama but was asked to darken it for the role. "Blake [Lively] was the blond, so we asked [Meester] to color her hair. A risky move on her part in the middle of pilot season, but she did a sink-rinse dye job to audition as a brunette," he shared. The actor and singer also opened up about being a childhood blond to Elle, sharing, "I grew up with blond hair and it turned ashy light blonde around 13, 14, I wanted to recapture it as a teenager."

In 2003, Meester showed us what her light, pre-fame hair was like during an appearance at The Silver Spoon Beauty Buffet. The actor once again proved she can pull off both blond and brunette as her warm toned, golden locks complimented her skin tone and gave off a healthy, tan glow. Her breezy dream girl blond tresses had plenty of dimension thanks to carefully placed highlights that framed her face, yet she was still barely recognizable without her signature brown hair.