After her breakout role on Gossip Girl,
Taylor Momsen gave up acting to sing with her band The Pretty Reckless.
But you might not know what else she’s been up to. Here's what she's been up to lately.
Taylor Momsen entered the entertainment industry at a very young age, well before
she was old enough to make a decision about it for herself. Throughout her career, Momsen
has revealed that she had mixed feelings about her upbringing. When asked about her childhood,
Momsen would sometimes state that becoming an actress was her choice,
and that her parents simply helped her find opportunities, but later comments revealed
a very different picture. For instance, Momsen said in an interview with Revolver,
"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."
After moving to New York to film Gossip Girl and finishing high school early,
Momsen stated that while she loved her parents, she was now legally responsible
for herself and could enjoy more freedom and independence. It seems like Momsen was pushed
into the spotlight before she was ready, and now, her career is in her own hands.
When Taylor Momsen landed the role of Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, it was her big break,
"Are there skins on these almonds? Fix it. And in a timely fashion. Otherwise you're all going as the Real Housewives of New Jersey for Halloween."
but some of the actors who worked with her on the show weren't
impressed behind the scenes. In later seasons, Momsen was appearing on screen less and less,
and Tim Gunn hinted at why this was after guest starring on the show.
In an interview with E! News, Gunn, who had played a mentor to Jenny on the series, said of Momsen,
"What a diva [...] She was pathetic, she couldn't remember her lines, and she didn't
even have that many. I thought to myself, 'Why are we being held hostage by this brat?'"
While the team behind Gossip Girl stated that the airtime for Momsen's character was being
cut for creative reasons, it seemed likely that after working on the series for a few years,
Momsen was getting frustrated with acting. Perhaps Gunn's characterization
of her behavior on set was unfair, but Momsen was definitely ready to move on.
"Besides, I'm leaving like Blair wanted."
Although Momsen was a successful actress, she had always secretly dreamed of making music,
and after working on Gossip Girl, she realized that she didn't enjoy
being in front of the camera. She had been writing her own songs since she was a child,
and she wished she could start her own band. One day, she realized that she
didn't have to act anymore if she didn't want to. As Momsen told Cosmopolitan,
"When I realized I could actually make my decisions,
it was a very strange feeling. [...] It was like, if I don't have to do this thing that
I don't enjoy doing anymore, or I don't know if I ever really did, then I'm not
gonna do it anymore! Because this is my life, and I want to live it and enjoy it if I can."
She decided to focus on following her passion for music instead.
In her early years with The Pretty Reckless, Taylor Momsen faced some obstacles.
Being a young woman in a male-dominated genre, she wasn't always taken seriously,
but for a while, she tried to ignore the phenomenon of sexism in the music industry.
She was branded as a "wild child" for her onstage antics, and there were doubts about
her authenticity as an artist. Later, she realized that some of this criticism was
aimed at her simply for being a teenage girl. Momsen said in an interview with Louder Sound,
"I was so in denial for so long about sexism, but as I've gotten older I've
realized it exists. [...] I've recognized it more as I've gotten older that there is
a boys' club when it comes to rock 'n' roll and it is a struggle to break into
that and be accepted and treated with the same respect as if you were a man."
Today, she's more comfortable and confident in her own skin.
"I am a female and I'm psyched people are liking it."
Opening for Soundgarden in 2017 was one of the highlights of Momsen's career.
She never would have imagined that she would appear at the same concert as Chris Cornell,
Soundgarden's lead vocalist and one of her musical heroes. But tragedy
struck when Momsen received the news that Cornell had died by suicide. She told SPIN,
"I was there that last night in Detroit [...] I talked to him at night,
I gave him a hug and said goodbye. When I wake up to that news the next morning [...] It just
went from the most elating experience to the one of the most devastating."
After a few more performances, Momsen decided to put her own band's tour on hold. She explained,
"I couldn't grieve and continue to get on stage every night and pretend,
put on this big rock show like everything was okay."
Months after Chris Cornell's death, Taylor Momsen and her bandmates were finally ready to
start recording music again. But shortly after they decided to begin working on a new album,
Momsen got a heartbreaking phone call and learned that their producer and her close friend,
Kato Khandwala , had been killed in a motorcycle accident. Momsen told Metro,
"He was so much more than a producer. He was a fifth member of the band and my
best friend in the world. I can't explain our relationship but it was so immensely close."
After losing two people who meant so much to her,
Momsen tried to find a way to numb her pain, and told The Daily Beast,
"I wouldn't say rock bottom, but I was getting close to that [...] I
was in this hole of depression [...] and was not well mentally."
Momsen says that during this period of her life, she did not want to engage with the outside
world at all, and she spent most of her time at home. Rather than turning to others for help,
she tried to isolate herself, even though her bandmates lived nearby.
In the midst of her grief, Taylor Momsen found that even listening to
music made her feel worse. The singer explained to Illinois Entertainer,
"I got to a point where I couldn't listen to music, and that was really sad for
me. [...] If I put on any music — which has always brought me such solace and hope and
light — it would bring back some sort of memory which was too much for me to handle,
or too painful, so I didn't have my outlet which had always been there for me."
At the time, Momsen couldn't even bear the thought of listening to her favorite artists,
let alone writing new songs. Eventually, she began to pull herself out of her depression
by returning to her favorite band, The Beatles. When she was able to listen
to Soundgarden again, she knew it was finally time to pick up her own guitar.
Gossip Girl fans are getting excited about an upcoming reboot of the series.
Naturally, the audience who tuned in for the show's original run are wondering which cast
members might make an appearance. Fans of Momsen who were introduced to her through
Gossip Girl are wondering if she'll be coming back for a guest appearance,
but the musician has no plans to return to acting. Momsen told The Daily Beast,
"I don't have any plans to be any part of the reboot. [...] I never really watched the show
when it was on the air. I don't really ever like watching myself. It makes me uncomfortable."
However, Momsen is curious about how the reboot will handle technology,
as the characters always had to have the latest phones to spread gossip. She revealed that she's
considering watching the reboot just to see how the writers tackle this topic.
There was a time when Taylor Momsen would reliably pop up in the tabloids and gossip magazines,
but today, she has no real interest in chasing fame. While she loves her career as a musician,
she doesn't care to put her personal life in the spotlight. Momsen revealed to People,
"Once there was paparazzi outside my door, I learned very quickly to ignore all of it.
Fame is a fleeting thing, just something that you have to deal with. It's not real."
She may not get as much media attention now that her days on Gossip Girl are behind her,
but Momsen is happier with her career, so the trade-off seems to have been worth it. And
while Momsen does use social media, she tries not to spend too much time online in general.
After going silent for a few years, The Pretty Reckless finally released their
long-awaited fourth album on February 12, 2021. Titled Death by Rock and Roll,
Momsen says that although it might sound morbid, the album sums up their philosophy
on life. It’s a philosophy that late producer Khandwala always celebrated:
living according to your own terms. The album topped the charts during the week of its release.
"The fans are what make it. We have the best fans."
With the loss of Khandwala, it took longer than usual for the band to pull the album together,
and they had to figure out how they were going to produce the album without him
and who they should work with instead. In addition,
the COVID-19 pandemic prompted the band to shift the release date. Momsen told The Daily Beast,
"We finished the album right before COVID, and due to the insane world circumstances,
we pushed it a little bit."
As soon as it's safe to do so, The Pretty Reckless is ready to get back on the road,
where you might be seeing a lot more of Momsen in the coming years.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call or chat online with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Or Text HOME to the Crisis Text Line 741741.