Taylor Momsen

Taylor Michel Momsen (born July 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, model, and former child actress. Prior to her retirement from acting, she portrayed the character of Cindy Lou Who in the film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and Jenny Humphrey on The CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl (2007–2012). Momsen has been the frontwoman of the American rock band the Pretty Reckless since their inception in 2009. Early life Momsen was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents are Michael and Collette Momsen, and she has a younger sister, Sloane Momsen, who is also an actress. She is of partial Russian descent. She was raised Catholic, attending Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School for elementary school and later Herbert Hoover Middle School (in Potomac, Maryland), but is now non-religious. She also studied ballet at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) in St. Louis. Momsen was signed with Ford Models at a very young age: "My parents signed me up with Ford [Modeling] at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice. My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn't have friends. I was working constantly and I didn't have a real life." She began acting professionally at three years of age in a 1997 national commercial for Shake 'n Bake. She was then cast in The Prophet's Game. Momsen is included on the list of unclaimed Coogan accounts for performing children who have had part of their childhood earnings set aside to be claimed in adulthood pursuant to the Coogan Act.