Taylor Momsen

[johnnys_girl09]

Someone NEEDS to ID that leather jacket.

 

[atooomic]

^ yeah, please please! i want a leather jacket like hers so badly

 

[eimear.style]

love that latest look!

 

[advo]

I love her look in the first promo pic, especiallty, because the makeup is great!

 

[tara_brooke]

 

[tara_brooke]

Having been part of the Hollywood machine since she was three, Taylor Momsen (practically a veteran now at fifteen) is the Gossip Girl star who has earned a reputation as the new NYC girl-about-town, finding her way into the coveted style sections and gossip columns (Was she really hospitalized for a “throat infection”? Did she host a make-out party with her costars?) as well as landing the cover of New York Magazine, which branded Gossip Girl “The best show ever”. Gus Van Sant, the Oscar nominated director, liked her so much he cast her as his leading lady in the indie-flick Paranoid Park, and, as if that wasn’t enough, she is now setting her cerulean eyes on a career in music. QVEST caught up with Hollywood’s oldest young lady…
David Girhammar: I know you’ve been in this game for quite some time - since you were a kid, right?
Taylor Momsen: Yeah, I started in the industry when I was three.
Age three, that IS young. You must feel like you’re one step away from retirement by now! Speaking of experience, at fifteen you’ve managed to be the most seasoned actor in a Gus Van Sant movie as well as starring in an insanely popular TV show. How did you get started?
It all happened quite organically. I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, going to Catholic school there, and one of my mum’s really good friends was a photographer and she asked us if she could take some pictures of me for her portfolio. So we did a shoot which apparently turned out really well, and, subsequently, the photographer secretly sent it out to Ford … My mum then got a call from Ford asking if they could sign me, and of course she said yes. That got me doing print modeling for about a year, before I got thrown into acting by another photographer, doing commercials - all at the age of three. That’s where it all evolved from. It was never like my parents were pushing me into doing this for a career, it was all very happenstance.
So how did you end up getting the Gossip Girl gig?
Well, I went to audition for the pilot, and because I had read the first couple of books beforehand and knew the characters. I thought there’d be absolutely no way I’d get the part, because I don’t look anything like Jenny. I was blond, she was a brunette. But within two days I was flying to LA, shooting the pilot and it has basically been a whirlwind ever since!
Gossip Girl has an incredibly dedicated fan base. What has that been like? You’re world must have changed dramatically in these three years?
Umm, yeah. To say the least. I don’t think any of us involved with the show thought that we’d end up with this massive fan base, covering our every move. But it’s been great and we’ve been very lucky. Our supporters are incredible.
The show is obviously huge in the US, but how does it feel to almost become a household name in countries like England and Germany? Ever been to Berlin?
No! But I definitely want to go. One of my friends just went, she loved it, and I got quite jealous. It is absolutely insane to think that people all over the world are watching this show. I couldn’t be more thankful.
OK. Let’s talk a little bit about the Gus Van Sant movie you did, Paranoid Park. I know he said he would only use nonprofessional actors for that movie. But you still managed to get the part. How did you end up getting cast?
Well, Paranoid Park was so different from any other project I’ve done. I got the script, it was 33-pages long, and I was like, “Oh, I love this outline, but where is the rest of the script? Is he not releasing it?” And, of course, that was all there was.
So the process of filming was much like one big improv session?
Yes. I’m used to having everything laid out, like on Gossip Girl. With Paranoid Park things couldn’t have been any different. I got the role by auditioning on tape, so I didn’t meet Gus until the first day of shooting. But he wanted it that way. He thought he could make the film more real by letting us know as little as possible. I’d wake up in the morning not having a clue what I’d be up to that day. It was great because he gave us a lot of creative freedom and I really learned to trust my instincts and abilities as an actor.
Your character Jennifer in that movie was kind of obsessed with her status and being popular. Did you find that easy to relate to?
No, not at all! She’s incredibly superficial and I’m not. But, in the end, her actions all stem back to her being insecure, and I found it very interesting trying to get into her head. I really enjoyed this element.
OK, let’s move away from acting a bit. You’ve been getting noticed in gossip columns and style journals a lot these days, for your style sense and other things. You’re becoming a regular little fashion icon. Would you say you have a personal style?
Well, I don’t work with a stylist. I pick out what I wear myself. I feel that is important, because I think real style is something that comes from within. If someone else dictates what you are wearing, then it’s not something that really reflects you, is it? I would never categorize what I wear, because it is always evolving and depends on my mood, but I definitely always try to throw in something black into any ensemble.

 

[Suburban Snob]

I find the headless black & white photo oddly fascinating.

 

[STYLEOClDE]

love her latest outfits.

 

[Eshatorres]

looks like the $50 one from H&m .. sry i'm wrong

 

[.amahlia.]

she is 15!!! no matter how mature she thinks she is,, she should not be taking pictures like that.

 

[Boomer]

The black raccoon eyes are so...demode...

 

[atooomic]

honestly, the last b&w picture seems so stupid... would be a little better if it was showing her face
the others - specially with the dogs - are pretty

 

[tara_brooke]

i love the 2nd and 3rd b&w pic! those puppies are so cute

 

[Grunged]

why is she doing pictures like that? That's disgusting, she's a child for God's sake. And at least if she's going to do something like that do it in a tasteful manner, she looks like a hooker.

 

[alacrity]

Love the latest outfits from the set!!

 

[advo]

I'm too very put off by those pics. I'm not a prude by any measure, but I would not like my little sister posing for pics like that. And I still don't get the eyemakeup. It makes her look way harsh. I didn't think I would ever say this, but I miss her sweet looks in S1 of GG.

 

[Boomer]

^ Yeah, I agree with you..Not only is it inappropriate, but it sends a pretty bad career message for a pretty young girl to be so tarted up...Imagine what 20 will look like if she's doing this stuff now in her mid teens...

 

[dumbfairy]

i love the 2nd and 3rd b&w pic! those puppies are so cute

The dirty minded girl in me read that in a different way

 

[advo]

^^Exactly. I think it's really sad that "Hollywood" forces a lot of young girls to mature fast. I don't understand the parents though. How can they be okay with this?

 

[Mademoiselle-M]

I don't know, I think, she looked better in first season. Now she looks too old... Maybe older than Leighton and Blake... Don't you think?