Taylor Momsen says she was ‘made fun of relentlessly’ at school for ‘alienating’ role in The Grinch

Taylor Momsen has said starring in the classic Christmas flick How the Grinch Stole Christmas when she was just seven-years-old led to her being teased ‘relentlessly’ at school.

Momsen played Cindy Lou Who - the little girl who helps Jim Carrey’s Grinch fall back in love with Christmas.

But starring in such a well-known movie took its toll on Momsen, who recently admitted that she found it hard to fit in at school afterwards.

Speaking to her former Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley on the Podcrushed podcast, Momsen revealed: “First of all, The Grinch changed my life in a multitude of ways - one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly.

“Every time I would start a new school or go somewhere else, I don’t even think the kids knew my name. I was just ‘Grinch Girl’. Not even the character name, just ‘Grinch Girl’. I got used to it, but it was alienating.”

However, before you go assuming that Momsen isn’t a fan of the holiday movie - think again.

In a 2020 interview with NBC’s Today she opened up about what she thought made the film so beloved with audiences and was quick to pile on the praise.

Universal Pictures

She said: “I think that people love The Grinch just simply because the core of the story is so sweet and it’s so heartwarming and it has such a good message.

“That no matter what age touches your heart, I think that that’s an amazing thing to be a part of.

“The fact that it comes back around every year - I think it’s something to look forward to. And I think it just kinda brings happiness and joy to anyone who watches it.”

Following her breakout role in The Grinch, Momsen bagged several other movie roles including appearances in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, Saving Shiloh and Underdog; and was a main character in the long-running teen drama Gossip Girl.

Alongside her acting career, Momsen also formed rock band The Pretty Reckless, who have released four studio albums to date - most recently in 2021.

Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage

Momsen credited music with helping her settle into school and make some friends once she arrived at middle-school.

She told Podcrushed: “That was the first year… where I was in school, and I had the opportunity to try and actually make friends.

“I put a band together. It was my first band, my middle-school band, a garage band. We never could settle on a name. But we would jam after school, and that was always fun. I was singing, playing guitar, writing.”