Remember little Cindy Lou Who, the sweet, innocent blonde-haired child in How the Grinch Stole Christmas? Today she’s a rocker trying hard to look the part, known for raunchy style of dark black raccoon eye makeup and wearing fishnet stockings and stripper black heels. On stage, she’s not afraid to rip her shirt off and perform, only with pasties covering her nipples from the public.
Momsen has completely changed her image growing up and here is a look at the path she has taken.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas – 2000
Momsen played Cindy Lou Who in the Christmas classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas alongside Jim Carrey. With her hair tied up in a cute bow, she tried to bring the joy of Christmas back to Whooville and inspire it in the Grinch himself. Momsen also later appeared in the children’s movies, Hansel and Gretel and Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams.
Gossip Girl – 2007 to 2012
She landed a role on the cast of the hit show Gossip Girl in 2007. She played the character Jennifer Humprey, who was a girl trying to climb to the top of the social ladder and fit in in school, and appeared in 88 episodes. She was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Female for her role.
After four season as a cast member, her character became less used in the series and she was only a guest in the final two seasons. On why Momsen left Gossip Girl, she tells ELLE magazine in 2011, “I quit acting, actually. I quit Gossip Girl and now tour and am in a band and that’s pretty much all I want to do. Hopefully I’ll be able to only do that for the rest of my life.”
The Pretty Reckless – 2007 to now
After leaving full time work as part of Gossip Girl, Momsen put her full focus on her band The Pretty Reckless. Momsen had been working with producers and writing songs. With rock producer Kato Khandwala, the band started making music and playing concerts in 2009. The band released their first album “Light Me Up” in 2010 on the Interscope Records label. In 2012, they toured with Marilyn Manson and Evanescence in The Medicine Tour.
In March 2014, the band released their second album “Going to Hell” which reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 with their single ‘Heaven Knows’ reaching No. 1 on the rock charts. The alternative rock band recently released a sexually fueled music video featuring a naked Momsen and is currently on a summer tour for the summer.