The night before her THR interview, Leighton Meester watched Friendship, the Tim Robinson cringe comedy about disastrous social encounters taken to absurd extremes and she hasnt stopped ruminating about it. I really will think to myself, What if I said or did the worst thing right now? she says. Like Im pushing against the instinct to do or say something crazy.

Lately, that anxiety feels a little less hypothetical. In the last couple of months, I havent even been able to turn on the TV at the end of the day, Im just, like, survival sleeping, she goes on. Meester, her husband, actor Adam Brody, and their two young children were among the thousands of Angelenos who lost homes in the Palisades Fire. Still, shes clearly more than surviving. Right now, in fact, Meesters on a promotional run for Good Cop/Bad Cop, The CWs offbeat procedural that pairs her with Luke Cook as estranged siblings forced to work together as police partners. (Its coming to Prime Video on June 15.) The show marks the Gossip Girl alums return to network TV, following her brief 2018 run on ABCs Single Parents, and it caps off a recent surge in screen work.

NBCs offbeat procedural GoodCop/Bad Cop stars Meester and Luke Cook as estranged siblings forced to work together. Vince Valitutti/Future Shack Entertainment Over the course of the past year, shes joined season two of Apple TV+s The Buccaneers, a loose adaptation of an unpublished Edith Wharton novel that filmed in Scotland, and is currently shooting an untitled HBO series from Zillennial comedian Rachel Sennott. Its about a group of clueless influencers trying to make it in L.A. while completely unaware that theyre the butt of the shows joke. At least I hope thats what were doing, Meester cracks. Because thats what Im doing.

This fall, there will be even more on her call sheet: Shell be appearing alongside Brody on the second season of Netflixs Nobody Wants This, playing a momfluencer. Its a show where everybody feels happy to be there, she says, noting that most of the time she barely notices with whom shes co-starring. I truly do watch him and forget that Im watching my husband.

Meesters own origin story, incidentally, reads like a streaming drama in itself. Born in a Texas hospital while her mother was serving time on marijuana charges, she spent her early months in a halfway house and was raised in Florida by her grandmother. At age 11, her mother re-entered the picture and brought her to New York, where Meester modeled for Ralph Lauren and Limited Too and started auditioning. She booked Law Order at 13. By 20, she had landed Gossip Girl.

In the years since that iconic 2007-12 drama, she has racked up credits ranging from indie films (The Roommate, Country Strong) to Broadway (Of Mice and Men). Now 38, shes been famous for nearly half her life and shes finally settling into it.

Thom Browne dress with Swarovski crystal trim. Photographed by Kanya Iwana In my 20s, I was working, but I was just sort of flailing, she says. Now I feel more comfortable literally in my body and my skin. I dont place emphasis on the opinions or judgments of others anymore.

And as more opportunities roll in, shes learning that most elusive Hollywood skill of all: how to say no.

If Im doing eight episodes of a show, I have to think, Are the people nice? Will the long hours be fun? Because I dont want to be in a situation where the vibe is off, she says. Ive had plenty of experiences where Im like, I wish this was cooler.

Not her problem anymore.

Thom Browne jacket, cardigan, shirt, skirt. Shoes, her own. Photographed by Kanya Iwana This story appeared in the June 11 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.