The Grinch Actress ‘Made Fun of Relentlessly’ Over Role

How the Grinch Stole Christmas star Taylor Momsen had a hard time due to her role.

Appearing on the Podcrushed podcast, the former Grinch star explained how she struggled at school thanks to her starring role in the Jim Carrey Christmas flick.

“First of all, The Grinch changed my life in a multitude of ways — one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly,” explained Momsen. “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.”

I don’t even think the kids knew my name. I was just Grinch Girl.

Momsen has since gone on to star in Gossip Girl before founding her own band, The Pretty Reckless. Unfortunately, her experience as the Grinch Girl stays with her. “Not even the character name [Cindy Lou Who], just Grinch Girl. I got used to it, but it was alienating.”

How the Grinch Stole Christmas starred Momsen as Cindy Lou Who – the young, innocent Who who befriends Jim Carrey’s Grinch, encouraging him to embrace the real spirit of Christmas.

Thankfully, it’s not all bad. Momsen has previously spoken rather positively about the movie and why it resonates with fans. “I think that people love The Grinch just simply because the core of the story is so sweet and it’s so heartwarming and it has such a good message,” she in an interview with NBC Today. “That no matter what age touches your heart, I think that that’s an amazing thing to be a part of.”

“The fact that it comes back around every year — I think it’s something to look forward to,” she added. “And I think it just kinda brings happiness and joy to anyone who watches it.”

IGN’s The Grinch review gave it 7/10 and said: “The Grinch is a vehicle – a marketing machine constructed around a mega-star. It may be fun, and sometimes it’s really good. But when all is said and done, it doesn’t have the necessary ingredients or purity of vision to be a classic film.”

Want to read more about The Grinch? Check out where to watch every Grinch movie as well as the best Christmas movies (and specials) on Netflix.

Image Credit: Universal Pictures.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.