From child star to modern rock legend: the dual life of Taylor Momsen
In the opening scenes of the music video for rock band The Pretty Reckless’ latest single, ‘When I Wake Up’, we glimpse into a morning-after through frontwoman Taylor Momsen’s eyes, as she picks up remnants of the night before strewn across her room.
Momsen then proceeds to hang out of a car window and screams, “I’m doing fine,” amid spliced-together, barely-there memories of hedonistic nights gone by. This energy has remained central to The Pretty Reckless since their inception: lyrically, Momsen reckons with the thin lines drawn between Heaven and Hell, indulgence and darkness, and the explosiveness of rock ‘n’ roll’s duality. From childhood, rock music was her saviour, and later, it would rescue her from an adolescence dominated by the acting world.
In 2009, The Pretty Reckless made their live debut in New York City, fronted by a 16-year-old Momsen. She’d started the band two years before, while simultaneously starring in the cult-phenomenon television series Gossip Girl. She had already been a veteran in the acting world for over a decade when she began modelling at the age of two and acting in commercials at three. As a teenager, consumed by the weight of leading a life not of her choosing, she traded the glamour of Hollywood for classic rock and life on the road.
The glare of Gossip Girl has persisted in the same 18 years since Momsen left the series, but at her core, Momsen has always been a bona fide rockstar; acting, on the other hand, was simply a job: “My intention was never to be an actress,” she told Classic Rock in 2021. “It was just something I did.”
My personal admiration for Momsen came not from the aforementioned television series, but from a fateful introduction to The Pretty Reckless, hearing a clip of their 2012 single, ‘Kill Me’, that sunk its claws into me from the opening line and melodic strum of an acoustic guitar: “Every day I wake up alone,” sung in her signature low-registered gravel – perhaps this is why I’m so passionate about Momsen’s recognition for her talents as a musician: she undeniably holds her own among rock’s most powerful voices, parsing inspiration from artists that range from The Beatles to Soundgarden, and her lyrics communicate a defiant angst and poignant reconciliation with a life primarily lived in the spotlight.
Still, rumblings of Momsen’s transition from child actress to rock singer continue to circulate on socials and news outlets. References to Momsen as ‘Little J’, attributed to her former Gossip Girl character, remain common, while quotes of one-liners from the series flood comment sections – Momsen herself recently made reference to Gossip Girl in the ‘When I Wake Up’ video, including her former castmates Jessica Szohr and Connor Paolo in a bar sequence, with Momsen reflecting on Instagram, “It was an emotional and surreal moment to be in the same room together again after 15 years.”
It is interesting to consider how Momsen’s career has evolved into a life that she had always hoped for: that of becoming a musician. As this identity continues to coexist with her former acting days, it shows how Momsen has rooted and grown in her authenticity, and continues to do so. Thus, maybe Momsen’s life is not so “dual,” after all, but rather a unique progression into a life of her own creation.
Such nostalgia is one that Momsen occasionally leans in to with a particular charm: this past Christmas, for instance, The Pretty Reckless released an EP of holiday songs with a nod to her breakthrough acting role as Cindy Lou Who in 2000’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas, to celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary.
Speaking with Kuya Allen for TMRW Magazine in 2025, when asked what about her life would be both the same and conversely different had she not been cast in The Grinch, she acknowledged that the “core” of her life would always remain rooted in music, and credited the film with her introduction to the creative world.
“Without it, I probably wouldn’t have had the same level of visibility or the strange dual identity of ‘child actor who became a rock singer,’” she noted. “Maybe my transition into music would’ve been quieter. Maybe slower, but ultimately inevitable.”
In contrast, Momsen poignantly reflected on the potential differences, surmising, “Everything that comes with being recognised before you’ve even figured out who you are.”
The shift from acting to music was, in Momsen’s words, inevitable; the former was, indeed, a method of performance, “work” versus following her true calling. Appearing on the Call Her Daddy podcast last November, reflecting on the evolution of her relationship to her past, Momsen enthused, “I am Cindy Lou Who. I am that girl. I’m still that girl!” Her growth as a musician may be inextricable from her former acting life, to an extent, but my hope is that the characters she once portrayed do not overshadow her artistry today.
It is worth mentioning the accolades that Momsen and The Pretty Reckless have garnered in the rock sphere – the band is one of rock’s most vital forces, consistently featuring on the rock charts, becoming the first female-fronted band to have five singles reach the top of Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and touring with the likes of Evanescence, AC/DC and Soundgarden, (the latter of whom The Pretty Reckless opened for what would be their final show on May 17th, 2017, in Detroit, Michigan). Momsen, an avid Chris Cornell devotee, performed in his honour at Soundgarden’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025, delivering a stunning rendition of ‘Rusty Cage’.
Particularly with the upcoming release of The Pretty Reckless’ next album, Dear God (out June 26th) and its two preceding singles (so far), ‘For I Am Death’ and ‘When I Wake Up’, Momsen – now 32 years old – has communicated some of her most vulnerable stories to date. The former tackles apathy and grasps at salvation from an inexplicable pain, while the latter’s chaos harkens back to a near-consumptive darkness.
Momsen has channelled these energies into The Pretty Reckless’ every chord since their debut single, ‘Make Me Wanna Die’, centred on a teenage discomfort with being perceived and balancing expectations versus reality. “I had everything,” Momsen rasps, “Opportunities for eternity / And I could belong to the night.”
Since that release in 2009, a startling sense of self-identity has grown with Momsen, but always remains cathartic for both herself and the listener.
Recently, Momsen spoke to Metal Hammer about her pride in staying true to herself in the wake of expectations that preceded her. “I’m proud that I trusted my instincts. I’m proud that I listened to myself, and I really fought for what I believe in, against all odds and against a lot of people’s advice,” she said. “I went for my dreams and really trusted my gut as to who I was and who I am. I didn’t take no for an answer! I stuck to my guns, and it has led me to where I am now, and I feel like I’m in a really good place, and I’m really happy with that.”
To continue to witness an artistic growth like Momsen’s, unique to her life experiences, alone, is to see one of modern rock’s greatest voices continue to shape the genre’s sound and emotional centre. In The Pretty Reckless’ music, there is no question of who “Taylor Momsen” is: she lays bare every crucial, emotive, grief-stricken detail of her life, as well as moments of euphoria, love and healing.
I’d be remiss not to mention that her position as a woman at the helm is awe-inspiring in itself. While she does not particularly care to be perceived by her gender – “I’m very proud to be a woman in rock’n’roll. One thing hasn’t changed, though… I want to compete with the best, and the best has nothing to do with gender,” she told Metal Hammer, seeing a woman present herself, on-stage and on-record, with such candour and strength while never sacrificing her femininity was major for this particular writer at a young age, and certainly for many other young women and feminine-presenting rock fans, too.
With Dear God on the horizon, here’s to hoping that Momsen’s prowess as a musician continues to evolve and be recognised as such.
