Leighton Meester's 2 Kids: Everything She's Said About Her Daughter and Son

Leighton Meester prefers to keep her children out of the spotlight.

The Gossip Girl the alum has two children with her husband Adam Brody, whom she married in 2014; a daughter, Arlo, born in 2015, and a son, whose name has not been revealed, born in 2020.

In August 2018, before the birth of their son, Meester opened up about how she and Brody juggle work and parenthood.”I also think it’s nice to be an actor [is] you can work a lot, and when work is work, it’s super intense and long and you might not see your family for a long time,” she told Party tonight. “But then I’ll have, like, months off, so I can really be at home and spend time [with Arlo]. I prefer it that way.”

When it comes to maintaining that balance, Brody said all of the potential projects “feed through each other.”

“We’re each other’s managers, and we also have two of the same agents… We’re in each other’s hands— in that way, and we even did a movie together a few years ago,” he said during a September 2024 appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair expert podcast.

Although Meester and Brody have publicly shared a few anecdotes about their daughter and son, they mostly keep their children out of the spotlight. The CHRISTMAS The actress explained her decision to separate her family life from her career in an interview with Refinery29 in March 2017.

“I’m very proud of that area of ​​my life,” she said of being a parent. “But I’m also very proud of the show and the work that I do. I think the perception is: you’re a genius, or you’re an icon, or you’re a mom. There’s no in between.”

From secretly welcoming their daughter to becoming a family of four with the arrival of a son, here’s everything you need to know about Leighton Meester and Adam Brody’s two children.

Meester and Brody secretly welcomed their first child in 2015

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester at the premiere of “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” on March 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Gilbert Flores/Variety/Getty

Meester and Brody’s daughter, Arlo Day Brody, was born on Tuesday, August 4, 2015, in Whittier, California. At the time, the couple didn’t comment on Meester’s pregnancy or the arrival of their baby — which didn’t come as a surprise to fans, since they also kept the private wedding in 2014 under wraps.

The Strong country The actress, however, seemingly hinted at her and Brody’s future as parents while speaking to Nylon at the end of 2014.

“Most people I know are getting married. The children will be next,” the former Gossip Girl the star told the magazine. “I like grown-up stuff. I like having a house. I have dogs.”

Meester says being a mom is “the hardest job in the world”

While the couple keeps their family private and hasn’t shared photos of their daughter, Meester has been open about becoming a mom.

“I feel like I’m really lucky, and yet I stepped into the hardest job in the world: being a mom,” said the actress Form in March 2019.

She later added, “One thing I’ve learned as a parent is that you have to step back and let your child struggle a little bit — let them fall on the playground. That’s how they’re going to learn.”

Arlo is not afraid to share his opinion about his parents’ work

Leighton Meester and Adam Brody in ‘Single Parents’.

Scott Everett White/Getty

In May 2020, Meester shared her daughter’s strong opinion about her and Brody working together on the ABC series Single parents. “Our daughter said, ‘You’ve been at work for so long.’ It’s like I’ve been here for a day,” she said ET. “She says, ‘You two can’t work at the same time.’ ”

Meester’s difficult childhood affected her parenting

Leighton Meester at the Bosideng show during Milan Fashion Week on September 24, 2023.

Dave Bennett/Getty

Meester also opened up about how struggling with poverty in her own childhood affected the way she raises her daughter.

​”We ​​live in such a bubble,” she told E! News in August 2023 “And obviously we’re very happy and grateful to be able to give her everything that we never had growing up. But we also want her to understand that not everyone grows up like that.”

The Single parents the actress stated that she will be taking Arlo with her on her upcoming volunteer work with the hunger relief nonprofit Feeding America. “I think it’s just about leading by example,” she said. “When we sit at the table, we always talk about what we’re thankful for and what was the best part of our day and just give thanks for our food.”

She continued, “And so she knows in a child-friendly way, that there are different ways people grow up. So I hope she can embrace that, but mostly just be grateful for everything she has.”

Meester and Brody welcomed their second child in 2020

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester at the after party for the premiere of Crackle’s “Startup” on August 23, 2016.

Todd Williamson/Getty

Brody confirmed that he and Meester welcomed their second child, a boy, in October 2020. News that Meester was pregnant broke in March of that year when she was photographed with a baby bump.

Following the arrival of their son, Brody opened up about becoming parents to two children in an interview with PEOPLE. “It was pretty magical,” he said. “It’s such a crazy time for everybody and we’re so, so, so lucky to have some of the security that we do and to have the flexibility in our jobs that we do. We talk about it all the time and we’re just ridiculously happy and lucky.”

The actor also said that being in quarantine during Meester’s pregnancy had some “benefits” for the couple. “You’ll find yourself in a cocoon. The outside world right now is scary, but also exciting and hopeful,” he explained.

“For us, luckily at this point in our lives, at this point in our lives, this growing family of one has definitely had its magical moments and it’s certainly had its strengths,” Brody continued.

Arlo loves being a big sister

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester at the premiere of FX’s “Fleishman is in Trouble” in New York on November 7, 2022.

Noam Galai/Getty

While talking to PEOPLE, OC alum said Arlo is “very excited” and “very happy” to be a big sibling. The arrival of their son also had the added bonus of giving Brody and Arlo extra bonding time.

“Since my wife has certainly been busier than usual for the past six months, I’ve even managed to spend more time with her [Arlo]”, he told PEOPLE. “It was magical and I will remember it for the rest of my life.”

During the interview with WSJ. Magazine a few months later, the actor elaborated on how he and his daughter spent quality time during the pandemic.

“Go Fish was big for a while. We switched to Monopoly Junior. A little piano, a little karaoke,” he explained. “[Our daughter] he flirted with wanting to learn to ride a bike without training wheels, then kind of backed off when it got real. And then a lot of walking around the neighborhood.”

Meester struggles with being away from her children while working

Leighton Meester attends Calzedomania – A Celebration of Legs Event on September 19, 2023 in Milan, Italy.

Daniele Venturelli/Getty

Two years later after their son was born, Meester said ET that being away from her children “doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better.” “I thought maybe she would, but she didn’t,” she said. “And now I’m really doubling down on the kids thing . . . So it’s a double whammy, like, ‘Well, now there’s a baby and he seems to need me.’ She added: “Work is the biggest guilt [because] I want to be here, having fun. Of course, I think it’s good everywhere, but this world, our society, everything, doesn’t really give us much space to feel whole on any side, and to feel good because we go to work or leave our children, or be with them . We can’t do that either.”

Meester said that it was particularly difficult to make her film Weekend away in Croatia while her son was still a baby.

“I was with my child, but he’s a baby and he couldn’t be separated. We couldn’t be separated from each other,” she thought. “It was hard to leave him for most of the day. There’s never an easy way to do it.”

Being a mom helped Meester connect with her characters

Meester has also been able to apply her experience as a mother to her acting roles. 2022, she said Cosmopolitan Great Britain that she bonded with her character Beth in the Netflix thriller Weekend away.

“I was really excited to play a new mother on the weekend for the first time – which is both the most exciting prospect and the most terrifying when you have a new baby, especially for the first time,” she told the outlet.

“But she’s not with her child,” Meester said of her character. “It would drive me crazy. I would be devastated if I was in that situation and thousands of miles away from my child.”

Meester describes motherhood as an “emotional journey”

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester attend the Fox Searchlight LA ​​Screening of “Ready Or Not” on August 19, 2019 in Culver City, California.

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty

Meester also shared that her parenting journey “made me think about my own upbringing and childhood.”

“Everything is so intimate and private,” she told PEOPLE in August 2023. “It’s something that I could never really put into words. Having children is such an emotional journey and it definitely made me think about my own upbringing and childhood.”

She continued: “Having kids, I want to give them everything we never had growing up, but also be honest and open about how grateful we should be for everything we have.”

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Source: HIS Education