We all know Taylor Momsen. You either know her as Jenny from Gossip Girl, or Cindy Lou who in the live-action version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas or as the front-woman of the rock band, The Pretty Reckless.
We're going to dive in and see how she went from being an actress to a rock & roll star.
Cindy Lou Who
Momsen started acting at the age of two. Her first acting role was in a Shake'n'Bake commercial at the age of three, though her breakout role came in 2000, at the age of seven, when she played Cindy Lou Who in the live action adaptation of How The Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey.
Not only was that her first major acting gig, she also got to sing in the film, where she sang Where Are You Christmas? A bit of a prediction of Momsen's future, maybe? Especially, when she's said that she's always been more interested in singing than acting.
Momsen still gives the film that was her breakout role a shout out here and there, especially on Twitter and Instagram. (though a majority of her Instagram posts have since been deleted.)
Little Jenny Humphrey
In 2007, Momsen's biggest acting role to date came to life. She played Jenny Humphrey on the iconic CW television series, Gossip Girl. This would be the role that would launch Momsen to fame at the age of fourteen.
On the show, we watched Jenny go from potential queen bee to later having a career in fashion.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2010, she had this to say about her fame that she received when starring on Gossip Girl,
"it just kind of happens overnight. No one prepares you for that. On Gossip Girl, I was just going to work, doing what I've always done, and then all of a sudden you're like, 'Woah!' But you get used to it."
After starring on the show for four seasons, with her being noticeably absent for a majority of the fourth season due to touring commitments, Momsen left the series in 2011 to focus on her music career. Not only did she walk away from the show, she walked away from acting entirely.
However, in 2012, Momsen made a return as Jenny for the show's series finale.
After being written out of the show, Momsen went on to say this about how lucky she felt when it came to the Gossip Girl producers.
“When I got to a place where I realized I was in control of my own life, and had found the right band, and everything was coming to fruition, it wasn’t even a question: I was going to quit my day job. I came to set every day with a f-in’ guitar. But I’m very lucky that the producers were nice enough to write me out, allow me to tour, and pursue my passion, because they very easily could have told me to go f-k myself and keep me on the show.”
Sounds like Little J did what she knew was best for her.
Light Me Up When I'm Down
In 2009, two years after Gossip Girl first premiered, Momsen formed her band, The Pretty Reckless. Momsen stated that for two years, she had been experimenting different producers, before meeting late rock producer, Kato Khandwala, who tragically passed away in 2018 following a motorcycle accident. Khandwala also worked with other bands like Paramore, My Chemical Romance, Pierce The Veil, and other various rock bands. Momsen also expressed her relief after noticing he's a rock producer, not a pop producer.
"It was a natural formation. I’m a singer-songwriter, so for two years or so, I was experimenting with various producers, to see who shared the same vision as me. It seems there are a lot of pop producers right now, and hardly any rock producers. So, when I finally met Kato [Khandwala], it was a big relief, because he’s like the most rocking guy you’ll ever f-ing meet. That set the standard. Then [guitarist] Ben Phillips and I wrote all songs together." says Momsen.
The Pretty Reckless performed their first show together on May 5, 2009, at The Annex in New York City. That first show was met with a positive review from music website, Spin, which gave some praise to a then 16-year-old Momsen.
On April 2010, The Pretty Reckless released their debut single, Make Me Wanna Die, which was the first song written for the band's debut album. Momsen called the song a 'tragic love song', comparing it to Romeo and Juliet.
After the song's release, the song was heard in different media. From the film, Kick-Ass, which also appeared on the film's soundtrack, to television shows like The Vampire Diaries in the promo trailer for their second season, Supernatural, and even on an episode of Momsen's show, Gossip Girl.
The band's debut album, Light Me Up, was later released on August 27, 2010. The album was well-received by music critics, with Alexey Eremenko at AllMusic calling Momsen, "the strongest and bitchiest female vocalist to front an alt-rock band since Garbage's Shirley Manson,"
That was only the beginning for the band.
Now
It took four years for The Pretty Reckless to release another album after Light Me Up. Their sophomore album, Going to Hell, was released on March 12, 2014. Unlike their debut, Going to Hell was met with mixed to positive reviews by critics. In one positive review of the record, however, Ray Van Horn Jr. of Blabbermouth gave the album praise by saying that the album is "a shell-shocked, stripped-down form of modern rock 'n roll that sounds at times like HEART in their early years," and that Momsen carries some Lita Ford edges in her vocals.
Their third album, Who You Selling For, was released on October 21st, 2016. The album received positive reviews, with some even complimenting the band's musical growth. They evolved into more of a blues sound on that record, even inviting The Allman Brothers guitarist, Warren Haynes to play on the album's 6th track, Back to the River.
The Pretty Reckless also managed to open for some pretty big names in rock music, including Marilyn Manson, Guns N' Roses, Evanescence, and Soundgarden.
The band opened for Soundgarden on May 17, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan where Soundgarden frontman, Chris Cornell tragically passed away hours after the show. Two days later, Momsen paid tribute to him at the festival, Rock on the Range, where Soundgarden was also set to play the day before, by singing Like A Stone by Audioslave, another one of Cornell's bands.
As of 2020, The Pretty Reckless is still going on strong. They recently signed with the label, Fearless Records, and have plans on releasing a new album sometime this year, titled Death by Rock and Roll.
Taylor Momsen sure has come a long way since playing Cindy Lou Who, and we're excited to see the release of her band's new album.
