Leighton Meester Says "There's So Much More to Women" Than Being a Mom

Leighton Meester has a surprisingly simple reason for why she doesn't talk about her 19-month-old daughter, Arlo Day. "I don't talk about Arlo very much. I am very proud of that area of my life. But I'm also really proud of the show, and of the work I do," the 30-year-old actress revealed during a recent interview with Refinery29. "I think the perception is: You're an ingenue, or you're an icon, or you're a mom. There's no in between."

Meester also expressed her frustration with the notion that women can only be wives and mothers. "The excitement for a lot of people is: Man and woman meet, get married, then have a baby. But in the meantime, there's so much more to women," she declared. Although she rarely shares any photos of her daughter, Meester has posted countless adorable photos with her husband, actor Adam Brody, throughout the years.