Leighton Meester was raised in a very different environment than her Gossip Girl character Blair Waldorf: she was born to a mother who was sentenced to ten years in jail for importing marijuana.

When we heard earlier this month that Leighton Meester was born in prison, we knew it was only a matter of time before the actress used the skills she gained playing Blair Waldorf on Gossip Girl to turn the situation around. Us Weekly had a quick chat with her at a charity event about it.

Meester told Us Weekly, “It makes me very nonjudgmental and open-minded. And I think it just makes me appreciate the things that I have now.”

Connie was pregnant with Leighton when she entered federal jail in Texas.  She gave birth at the age of 29 while still serving her sentence for her role in a criminal conspiracy that smuggled 1,200-pound shipments of marijuana into the United States from Jamaica. Doug, her father, also served time for his involvement in the smuggling enterprise. Doug now works in construction, while Connie works as a screenwriter.

Doug, who divorced Connie in 1992, tells Us, “Anything that her mother and I did that was questionable occurred before she was born.”

Leighton’s mother, her father, and her sister Judy were all participating in the smuggling enterprise. Her sister (Leighton’s aunt) escaped from prison after they were captured and became the first woman in the United States to be placed on the US Marshals 15 Most Wanted List. Although Leighton was born in a hospital, Connie had to serve sixteen more months in prison afterward.

Connie was originally condemned to ten years in prison but was freed after 16 month.

Despite her parents’ “questionable” background, as Doug puts it, the Gossip Girl’s relationship with them, especially with Connie, is anything but.

“She’s always there for me no matter what,” Meester remarked. “I swear, that woman knows everything.”

Connie describes her 22-year-old daughter as “very gifted,” “very talented” and “very intelligent.”

“I love her dearly,” she stated.

They ultimately reunited in Marco Island, Florida, where Leighton grew up before traveling to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of being an actress.

“She’s proof that the dream can be had by all,” Matthew Settle, who hardly gets screen time with Serena on Gossip Girl, said.