Gossip Girl was a hit and encapsulates some of the iconic elements of the teen shows from the early 2000s. Based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar, Gossip Girl tells the story of the New York Upper East Siders elite and their teen kids — the protagonists of the story. While Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) was technically the lead, her best frenemy stole the show with her fashion choices and ruthless character, Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester).
Blair Waldorf is the Queen Bee whenever she goes; from her school to university, she commands the room. Meester made incredible choices as an actress and incorporated the best parts of the character in every scene she was in. Blair is funny and hardwired to get the things she wants — no matter the cost. She became a fan favorite and is considered by many the best character in the show. Here are some of Meester's best moments as the iconic Blair Waldorf.
11 Any Scene with Dorota
Blair and her housekeeper, who acts more as a mother and confidence, Dorota (Zuzanna Szadkowski) had some of the funniest scenes on the entire show. She is one of the few people that Blair cares about and with whom she can fully trust. Blair is not close with her mother or father, and Dorota ends up fulfilling that role for her. Their relationship grows with the series, and it's an endearing one to watch.
10 Stripping at the Club
In the first season, the audience meets a more uptight version of Blair. When in a club with Chuck (Westwick), he dares her to go on stage and dance, stating that she would never do that. One thing that Blair loves to do is to win – pointless bets included.
Blair goes up the stage and has fun stripping off her dress. The ride home is quite iconic for these characters, and it all started when she decided to let loose and have fun, something she learns how to do as the series evolves.
9 “Three words. Eight letters. Say it, and I’m yours.”
Blair tells Chuck she loves him twice, and he doesn’t say it back. Tired of the vagueness of his feelings, she gives him an ultimatum. When Chuck is not able to give Blair the relationship and feelings she wants, they break up.
It’s an important moment for Blair as she holds her ground and doesn't give in to an emotionally unavailable relationship. In the finale of Season 2, Chuck finally says the three words Blair has been dying to hear.
8 Reading Serena’s Letter
Serena and Blair had some huge challenges regarding their relationship. Even when they weren’t speaking to each other, they were still someone the other deeply cared about.
In one of the first moments where Blair allows herself to be vulnerable, she reads Serena a letter she never sent when Serena suddenly left town without saying anything to her. Both girls cry as Blair confides to her best friend how lonely she felt when Serena wasn’t around and in other dark moments of her life.
7 Central Park Photo Shoot
Before Blair found her way into fashion, she tries to be a model for a photo shoot for her mother’s clothing line. When it doesn’t work out, Blair and Serena steal some dresses and do their own photo shoot in Central Park. It was an awesome moment for the friendship and shows how they always managed to take care of one another and have fun in the process.
6 Running a Fashion Company
Fashion was something that, from the get-go, was fundamental to Blair. She had a unique sense of style that even influenced her so-called minions in high school to dress like her, as well as the audience. Later in the series, she gets to run her mother’s fashion company. The fashionista from the Upper East Side crushes it and even gets to create a successful clothing line.
5 Protecting Serena
To say Blair is protective of those she loves is an understatement. Georgina Sparks (Michelle Trachtenberg) appears and pretends to be someone named Sarah to Dan (Penn Badgley). She threatens to expose one of Serena’s dark secrets. Serena decides to tell her friends — including Blair.
They decide to take Georgina down, and Blair contacts Georgina’s parents and sends her to a boot camp for troubled girls that Blair found upon research. After protecting her friend, the character says one of her most iconic lines to Georgina, “Haven’t heard? I’m the crazy b**** around here.”
4 Struggling with an Eating Disorder
Blair hits rock bottom when family drama triggers her, and the audience discovers that she has an eating disorder: bulimia nervosa, which accounts for nervous binge-eating episodes. She calls her best friend, who comes to help her.
It’s a heavy moment for the character that Meester portrays well and is an important conversation to have, especially with teenagers. It’s unusual for Blair to ask for help, and is nice to see such a strong character realize she doesn’t need to fight her demons alone.
3 Taking Down Bart Bass
If there is one thing no one can question about Blair is her schemes to take people down. The long list of people Blair outsmarted and was able to take out of the picture includes Chuck’s dad, Bart Bass (Robert John Burke). And while she is the best, Blair is also aware that sometimes even she needs help.
So, she calls some people to help to make her plan go right: get Bart to confess his crimes. This was one of Blair's most dangerous schemes, as Bart threatened her life, which didn't stop her at all.
2 Losing the Baby
In Season 5, Chuck and Blair get in a car accident. Blair was pregnant and ends up losing the baby and almost loses Chuck because he lost a lot of blood due to the accident. She goes to the small church in the hospital and asks God for help. A truly great moment from Meester as she conveys the despair and grief Blair feels.
Later, she and Dan start to sneak around together, and many think they are having an affair. However, Blair told him about going to church after everything that happened, something she didn't even tell her best friend, and he decides to go with her. They did ultimately have a brief relationship.
1 "You can't make people love you, but you can make them fear you."
In an open-hearted conversation between Blair and Jenny (Taylor Momsen), Blair states that she has chosen Jenny as the next Queen. They didn’t get along for most of the series and didn’t see eye to eye for many things, even in this conversation.
Nevertheless, Blair has chosen her heir and states a line that exemplifies what she is all about: "You can't make people love you, but you can make them fear you."