Taylor Momsen’s life has truly come full circle since her breakthrough role in the 2000 festive comedy How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
The actress-turned-rock star defied all expectations for her career after playing the sweet-natured Cindy Lou Who, landing a risque role on Gossip Girl and then fronting the hard rock band The Pretty Reckless.
Momsen looked back on her life and career in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in November 2025 to promote her festive EP Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas. She explained that the project “took on a life of its own” when The Pretty Reckless recorded their “heartwarming” original track “I Wanna Be Your Christmas Tree.”
“There was so much emotion, nostalgia and chaos wrapped up in it that it didn’t feel right to leave it standing alone,” she explained. “To really honor it, I needed to build a whole world around it.”
Keep scrolling for more about Momsen’s life after her role in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
Taylor Momsen Has Nothing But Love For ‘The Grinch’
Taylor Momsen had her breakthrough performance as a child star by playing Cindy Lou Who in 2000’s live-action adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which also featured Jim Carrey in the title role.
Momsen delivers one of the movie’s most memorable scenes with a stirring rendition of “Where Are You Christmas?,” re-recorded by Faith Hill for the How the Grinch Stole Christmas official soundtrack.
As Momsen made the transition from child star to young adult actress, she picked roles to help her avoid the typecasting that came as a result of playing Cindy Lou Who. However, she admitted on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in 2025 that she eventually made peace with The Grinch.
“Starting so young, it’s always hard to remember what you [genuinely] remember and what you remember because people have told you the stories and you’ve turned them into memories,” she explained. “I don’t have any bad memories with Grinch. Everything about it was awesome. It was super fun. I was super young. It was such an incredible project to be a part of that was so upper-echelon.”
Momsen revealed that How the Grinch Stole Christmas proved to be pivotal for her eventual music career because it was her “first time in a recording studio.”
“When the movie came out and I was in school, you’re teased relentlessly for it. You’re ‘Grinch girl,’” she recalled. “I moved around a lot. All of that kind of stuff was hard for me as a kid, but when I got older [and was] looking back on it … all of those experiences of making this film [were] wonderful. Why am I shunning this? I am Cindy Lou Who! I am that girl. I’m still that girl.”
Taylor Momsen Was an Original Cast Member on ‘Gossip Girl’
Momsen’s first big step into more mature roles was her casting in Gossip Girl as Jenny Humphrey (a.k.a Little J), a character whose bubbly personality covered up deep insecurities that were explored throughout the first four seasons of the CW show.
She ultimately was released from her Gossip Girl contract in 2011, following an extended contractual battle with producers and network executives.
“It was an easy decision for me [to leave],” Momsen told the “Call Her Daddy” podcast in November 2025. “To actually get out of a contract was not easy…. It was a very long battle of me arguing [with] everyone and going, ‘Get me outta this. I can’t do this anymore. This is killing me. I have something else I want to do with my life, and it has nothing to do with this, and I can’t be stuck here anymore.’”
Momsen remembered that she was called “ungrateful” by a network executive for wanting to leave a hit show.
“You’re called all the things that come along with, ‘How dare you turn your back on something that’s been so successful for you,” she said.
When she hit a wall with the network, Momsen went directly to series creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage to ask for their help.
“They essentially went, ‘Well, we can’t let you out of the contract because that’s not our job, but we can write you out of the show. We understand what you’re trying to do here,’” she confirmed. “I really have to credit them for doing that for me because they did not have to, and they wrote me out of the show so I could go on tour and be in a band.”
Jenny was written out of Gossip Girl at the beginning of season 5 when she went off to London to study art at Central Saint Martins. Momsen returned for a flash-forward scene in Gossip Girl’s series finale, where it was revealed she teamed up with Blair Waldorf to launch her own fashion line “J for Waldorf” five years later.
Taylor Momsen Fronts Rock Band The Pretty Reckless
Momsen shed her child star image once and for all after forming the 2009 hard rock band The Pretty Reckless. The group played their first-ever gig at The Annex in New York in May 2009 and signed to Interscope Records later that year.
The Pretty Reckless has gone through various lineup changes over the years but Momsen has been a constant as lead singer and rhythm guitarist. She opened up to Lifeminute in 2023 about how her creative process evolved in the 15 years since forming The Pretty Reckless.
Taylor Momsen Poses Nude in Nothing But Black Body Paint for Music Video
“The short answer is: I don’t know [what inspires me] and that’s what makes writing so tortuous,” she admitted. “You just kind of have to wait for inspiration to hit you. I think the simple way to do it is, I’m always keeping my mind and eyes and ears open for anything to inspire you and you just pray that that comes.”
She has described The Pretty Reckless’ sound as being influenced by her “two favorite bands,” The Beatles and grunge pioneers Soundgarden.
The Pretty Reckless released the single “For I Am Death” in August 2025 as a preview of their upcoming fifth studio album. She unveiled her festive EP, Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas — which includes a Power Pop cover of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and a rock version of “Where Are You Christmas?” — in November 2025.
Taylor Momsen Has Opened Up About Her Mental Health Journey
Momsen confirmed in November 2021 that she went through a period of “depression and substance abuse” following two significant losses.
In May 2017, Momsen’s musical idol, Chris Cornell, died by suicide in Detroit at age 52.
“Opening for Soundgarden was the highest of highs for me,” she told People. “So to have it end so tragically was crushing. We were there that night in Detroit [when Chris died] and spoke that evening. To wake up to the news that he had passed was such a shock. I was not equipped to handle that.”
Her grief was compounded 11 months later when her close friend, Kato Khandwala, died at age 47 in a motorcycle accident.
“Before quarantine started, I’d intentionally spent the past few years isolated,” she explained to People. “In a way, it feels like just an extension of what I was already doing. I’m used to being alone, and I’m good with it.”
According to Momsen, she spiraled into “utter depression and substance abuse” until she started working on The Pretty Reckless’s 2021 album Death by Rock and Roll.
“I’d given up on life, but then I turned to music,” she said. “It saved me. I am very lucky that I had my best friends by my side, pushing me in the new direction. Music has always been the constant.”
Taylor Momsen Celebrated the 25th Anniversary of ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’
In November 2025, Momsen celebrated the 25th anniversary of How the Grinch Stole Christmas when she reunited with Carrey at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
“We haven’t seen each other since The Grinch,” Carrey told photographers, with Momsen confirming, “It’s been 25 years!”
Later that month, it was announced that Momsen would appear at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 27, 2025, to promote her festive EP, Taylor Momsen’s Pretty Reckless Christmas. Fans have speculated that she could perform her rock cover of “Where Are You Christmas?” during the parade.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
