Taylor Momsen always felt like an outsider in acting.
Taylor Momsen became known worldwide with her role in the Christmas film “The Grinch”. The actress played villager Cindy Lou Who alongside Jim Carrey in the 2000 film. But the then seven-year-old suffered the consequences of her role in real life. She is now telling this – 23 years later – in the podcast “Podcrushed” of her fellow actor Penn Badgley.
“The Grinch changed my life in many ways, including being made fun of mercilessly,” says Taylor Momsen. “Every time I went to a new school or somewhere else, the kids didn’t even know my name. I was just the ‘Grinch Girl’. Not even the character’s name, just ‘Grinch Girl’. I got used to it, but it was strange.”
And even during her later role in the hit series “Gossip Girl”, the actress felt like an outsider. Unlike the rest of the cast, Momsen was only 12 when they filmed the first season of the New York-based series. “I was the new girl. I was the ‘Grinch Girl’ there too. “I was always in this strange, isolated world that was probably partly of my own making,” the 30-year-old reflects to Penn Badgley, who played her big brother in “Gossip Girl.”
After the series finale in 2012, Taylor Momsen took a permanent break from acting and focused on music. She founded her rock band The Pretty Reckless in 2009 and has been on stage ever since. In 2022 she released her fifth studio album OTHER WORLDS.