Dutch painter of genre scenes, portraits, and still-life, probably a pupil of Frans Hals in Haarlem, where she spent most of her career (she also worked in Amsterdam). In 1636 she married Jan Miense Molenaer, with whom she shared a studio, using the same models and props. Leyster was one of Hals's best followers and her work has sometimes passed as his, an example being the Lute Player in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Her monogram includes a star, a play on 'Ley/ster' (lode star). //