Grinch child star was bullied and given cruel nickname over role before becoming singer

Former child star Taylor Momsen has revealed she was teased “relentlessly” in school after starring in How The Grinch Stole Christmas.

The actor-turned-rock star was just six years old when she catapulted to fame as the adorable Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 Christmas classic.

But the now 30-year-old looks unrecognisable after a dramatic transformation that saw her bleaching her hair white and opting for a gothic and grungy look.

READ MORE: American Pie star unrecognisable with long hair as he reveals he nearly turned down role

While she no longer looks anything like her doe-eyed Dr Seuss character, the retired actor recently revealed the role had a lasting impact on her life.

Appearing on Wednesday’s episode of SiriusXM’s Podcrushed podcast with her Gossip Girl co-star Penn Badgley, Taylor explained: “First of all, The Grinch changed my life in a multitude of ways — one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly.”

She admitted “making friends was always challenging” but said it became even tougher following the release of the hit Christmas film when her peers started calling her a cruel nickname.

“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,'” she recalled.

She added: “Not even the character name, just ‘Grinch girl.’ I got used to it, but it was alienating.”

Taylor, who called herself “shy” and “socially awkward” revealed she finally made friends while taking a break from acting during middle school — and also discovered a love of music.

She said: “That was the first [full] 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.”

At 12 years old, Taylor returned to acting when she was cast as Jenny Humphrey in the 2007 drama series Gossip Girl.

After moving to New York for the show Taylor recalled how she had to “restart it all again” when it came to music and founded the rock group The Pretty Reckless.

But she confessed it wasn’t long before she started to feel alienated on the set of Gossip Girl too as she struggled to “fit in” with the rest of the cast, including Blake Lively, 36, and Leighton Meester, 37, because of their age difference.

“I was the new girl. I was ‘Grinch girl.’ I was always in this kind of weird, isolated world, partially of my own creating, probably,” she explained.

After four seasons, Taylor decided to quit the show to focus on her music career.

“Literally, as soon as I got to an age where I could make my own decisions, it was like a click … I woke up one morning and went, ‘Wait a second. I don’t have to do this?’” she said.

She revealed she would be “forever grateful” to the Gossip Girl team for agreeing to write her out of the show so she could go on tour.

The singer continues to be the frontwoman of The Pretty Reckless, who became the first female-fronted band to have seven number-one singles when their 2021 hit Death by Rock and Roll went to number one on the rock charts.

Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk