Taylor Momsen

Taylor Michel Momsen is an American singer, songwriter, musician, model, and former actress. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the American rock band the Pretty Reckless, a role she has held since 2009. Before focusing entirely on her music career, Momsen worked as a child actress, earning widespread recognition as Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and as Jenny Humphrey on the teen drama series Gossip Girl.

Momsen was born on July 26, 1993, in St. Louis, Missouri, to parents Michael and Collette Momsen. She was raised Catholic alongside her younger sister, Sloane Momsen, who is also an actress, and her family is of partial Russian descent. Growing up, she attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School, Herbert Hoover Middle School, and the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City, while also studying dance at the Center of Creative Arts.

Her acting career began at age three in a 1997 commercial for Shake 'n Bake, followed by roles in films such as The Prophet's Game and her breakout performance in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Her subsequent film credits include Hansel and Gretel, Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams, We Were Soldiers, Saving Shiloh, Underdog, and Paranoid Park. In 2007, she joined the cast of Gossip Girl, eventually leaving as a regular cast member in 2011 to concentrate on music before returning briefly for the 2012 series finale.

As a model, Momsen was signed to Ford Models at age two and later signed with IMG Models at age 14. She served as the face of New Look's spring/summer 2010 collection, Madonna's Material Girl fashion line, John Galliano's fragrance Parlez-Moi d'Amour, and Samantha Thavasa's handbag line. Over the course of her modeling career, she appeared on covers for publications such as Page Six Magazine, Seventeen, Revolver, FHM, and Maxim, and was ranked 29th on FHM's 2012 Hot 100 list.

Momsen launched her professional music career in 2009 when the Pretty Reckless signed with Interscope Records. Collaborating with guitarist Ben Phillips and producer Kato Khandwala, the band released their debut album, Light Me Up, in 2010. Their 2014 album, Going to Hell, reached number five on the Billboard 200 chart and established them as the first female-fronted band to top the rock radio charts with their first two singles, "Heaven Knows" and "Fucked Up World." The group released their third album, Who You Selling For, in 2016.

In February 2021, the band released their fourth album, Death by Rock and Roll, achieving a record as the first female-fronted band to score five number-one rock singles. Momsen has also collaborated with artists including Paul Barker, Evanescence, and In This Moment, while performing alongside members of Soundgarden. In 2025, the band released the Christmas EP Taylor Momsen's Pretty Reckless Christmas, followed by the announcement of their fifth studio album, Dear God.

Throughout her career, Momsen has spoken about her child acting experiences, describing them as alienating. She has also dealt with personal challenges, including depression and substance abuse following the deaths of Chris Cornell in 2017 and Kato Khandwala in 2018, both of which strongly influenced her music. Although raised Catholic, she stopped practicing by October 2016, identifying instead as spiritual.