Cindy Lou Who Grew Up To Be A Rock Star — What Happened To The Rest Of The Grinch Cast?

Based on Dr. Seuss' 1957 book of the same name, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" has been an inexorable part of the American Christmas tradition since 1966 when it was adapted as a CBS animated television special. The classic story tells the tale of a green ne'er-do-well born with a heart that was two sizes too small, as he wages a one-man war on the Christmas holiday and the Whos who celebrate it from their humble hamlet of Whoville. And while the animated special etched the story into the annals of Christmas lore, it ascended to new heights within the Yuletide pantheon in 2000 when it was reimagined in live action for a new generation as a Ron Howard-directed feature film.

In perhaps the ultimate example of pitch-perfect casting, the film was led by Jim Carrey, who donned an incredible, furry, green costume and spent countless hours in a makeup chair before each shooting day to embody the iconic character that is the Grinch. However, Carrey was supported in the story's retelling by an ensemble cast featuring the likes of Christine Baranski, Jeffrey Tambor, Molly Shannon, and many others. However, Taylor Momsen's Cindy Lou Who provided the emotional core for the film, as her character looked beyond the Grinch's prickly exterior to instill the Christmas spirit within him. Momsen won viewers' hearts with her sweet songs and heartfelt demeanor, and that star quality has carried her to success as a gorgeous rock star.

Momsen has carved out an incredible musical career for herself as a singer-songwriter and the lead singer for The Pretty Reckless. The band has released multiple studio albums since its 2009 formation, winning acclaim with songs like "Heaven Knows." However, she's not the only "Grinch" cast member to make waves in the years since the film's release. Here's what happened to the rest of the cast.

Jim Carrey was already a superstar when he signed on to become the iconic Grinch in Ron Howard's adaptation. When principal photography began in 1999, he had already starred in the likes of "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective" (and its sequel), "The Mask," "Dumb and Dumber," "Liar Liar," "The Truman Show," and "Man on the Moon," to name a few. However, his turn in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" endeared him to the movie-going public as a more family-friendly figure. It also netted him a reported $20 million base salary, in addition to back-end bonuses, and his star only continued to rise in the years immediately following "Grinch's" release.

More recently, Carrey has slowed down considerably, making the three "Sonic the Hedgehog" films his only new feature film credits since 2017. In 2022, Carrey claimed he was saying goodbye to Hollywood. Two years later, he clarified his position, telling ComicBook, "You can't be definite about these things. I said I'd like to retire, but I think I was talking more about power resting. Because as soon as a good idea comes your way, or a group of people you really enjoy working with, things tend to change."

However, Carrey's non-retirement hasn't stopped organizations from honoring him with lifetime achievement awards. For 2026's Cesar Awards — essentially France's Academy Awards — Carrey was announced as a recipient of an Honorary César Award.

In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," veteran actor Christine Baranski portrayed Martha May Whovier, the only resident of Whoville who was nice to the Grinch when he was still living among the Whos as a child. Whovier is depicted as the epitome of glamor and style among the Whos, and also as a friendly rival to Cindy Lou Who's mother, Betty Lou Who (Molly Shannon). She's also shown in the film to have had feelings for the Grinch dating back to childhood, and is taken aback when Whoville's mayor, Augustus May Who, proposes to her. In the end, she casts her lot with the Grinch after his heart grows three sizes, and she also becomes fed up with Agustus' bullying of the green creature.

Prior to appearing in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Baranski made waves with her roles in "The Birdcage," "Addams Family Values," and the television series "Cybill." While she continues to pack her IMDB page with credits post-"Grinch," Baranski's love life has also been generating the headlines. Baranski is rumored to be dating her castmate from Season 2 of "Nine Perfect Strangers," singer King Princess, after the pair was snapped holding hands on the "Mamma Mia!" Broadway re-opening night red carpet. However, a rep from Baranski clarified to E! News that the two "are strictly friends and nothing more."

Jeffrey Tambor is perhaps best known for his portrayal of the lovable talk show sidekick Hank Kingsley on HBO's "The Larry Sanders Show," Garry Shandling's critically acclaimed lampooning of late-night television. He also famously played George Bluth Sr. and Oscar Bluth on Fox/Netflix's cult classic sitcom "Arrested Development." In "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Tambor played Augustus MayWho, the esteemed Mayor of Whoville. In the film, MayWho is essentially the main antagonist of the Grinch, bullying him as a child and continuing to make life hard for him as an adult. While he projects the facade of a beloved and benevolent servant of the people, he's actually quite self-serving. He's also a romantic rival of the Grinch, wooing Martha May Whovier.

In his later career, Tambor drew critical acclaim for his portrayal of a transgender woman, Maura Pfefferman, on the Amazon series "Transparent" in the mid-to-late 2010s. Tambor's performance in the role netted him two Primetime Emmy Awards for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series (in 2015 and 2016). However, Tambor was fired from the show in 2018 after being accused of sexual harassment by his co-star, Trace Lysette, and his former assistant, Van Barnes; both trans actors. Tambor denied the allegations, later saying he was "profoundly disappointed in Amazon's handling of these false accusations," and expressing his disappointment in the way an investigation into the matter was handled, via The Hollywood Reporter. His last acting credit came in 2020.

"Saturday Night Live" alum Molly Shannon played Betty Lou Who in the live-action "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Cindy Lou Who's energetic mother, who is determined to beat out her neighbor, Martha May Whovier, in Whoville's annual Christmas Lights Contest. She's also the mother to Cindy Lou's older brothers, Stu Lou Who (T.J. Thyne) and Drew Lou Who (Jeremy Howard), and the wife of Lou Lou Who (Bill Irwin), the town's postman.

Before appearing alongside Jim Carrey and Co. in the film, Shannon had become a veritable "SNL" legend with her character Mary Katherine Gallagher, the cringe-inducing Catholic schoolgirl with Hollywood dreams that eventually served as the focal point for the 1999 feature film, "Superstar." She had also appeared in films like 1998's "A Night at the Roxbury" and 1999's "Never Been Kissed."

Shannon has worked steadily since her "SNL" breakout, appearing most recently in the 2025 Bobby Farrelly-directed comedy "Driver's Ed" alongside Sam Nivola and Kumail Nanjiani. She has also voiced Wanda Werewolf across multiple installments of the "Hotel Transylvania" series. She's slated to reunite with her "SNL" pal and frequent film collaborator, Will Ferrell, in an untitled Netflix series featuring Ferrell as a fictional golf legend. Shannon's continued success after the tragic accident that shaped her life continues to be an inspiration.

Cindy Lou Who shows the Grinch kindness throughout "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," nominating him as the town's Holiday Cheermeister at the Christmas Eve Whobilation and convincing the residents of Whoville to give him a chance to be more than just their local boogeyman. She did so thanks in large part to the lessons imparted to her by her goodly father, Lou Lou Who. Lou Lou works at the town's post office and is thoroughly committed to his family — particularly Cindy Lou — and the Christmas holiday. He eventually stands up to Jeffrey Tambor's Mayor MayWho when he accuses Cindy Lou of ruining Christmas after the Grinch steals all of the townspeople's presents.

Lou Lou is played in the film by actor Bill Irwin. Irwin entered show business as a vaudeville-style performer and master clown, eventually finding work as a choreographer and, later, a Tony Award-winning actor and writer. He went on to make memorable appearances in films like 2008's "Rachel Getting Married" and 2014's "Interstellar," as well as the 2017 FX/Marvel superhero series "Legion." More recently, he played Don in the twice-extended, 2024 Broadway production of "Eureka Day." He's set to play a role in famed writer/director Christopher Nolan's 2026 take on Homer's ancient Greek epic, "The Odyssey."

Ron Howard famously casts his younger brother, Clint Howard, in small but memorable roles in just about all of the feature films that he has directed, and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" was no different. In the live-action Dr. Seuss adaptation, Howard portrays Whobris, the mayor's sycophantic assistant. Over the years, Clint has appeared in everything from 1995's "Apollo 13" and 1997's "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" to 2018's "Solo: A Star Wars Story."

Despite being part of a veritable Tinseltown dynasty — Clint and Ron's late parents were Rance Howard and Jean Speegle, actors with their own lengthy list of credits dating back to the 1950s, and Ron's daughter is "Jurassic World" star Bryce-Dallas Howard — Clint doesn't believe that his family has anything over on others. "We're just people that make a living," he expressed to Fox News in 2025. "We're just people that have jobs and, you know, yeah, our jobs are creative, our jobs are creative. That doesn't mean we're anything special."

Clint, who's also something of a horror icon thanks to roles like his turn as the titular antagonist of the 1995 cult classic "Ice Cream Man," teased a return to the genre in a 2025 Instagram post. Meanwhile, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for outstanding guest performer in a drama series for his efforts as Tom Starr in the long-running soap "The Bold and the Beautiful."

In the aforementioned 1966 animated version of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," Boris Karloff served in a dual role as both the Grinch and the television special's narrator. With Jim Carrey sticking to the Grinch role in Ron Howard's live-action version, the narration was handled by one of the greatest actors of his or any other generation, the wildly-rich man behind Hannibal Lecter himself, Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins' voice is omnipresent in the 2000 film, beginning the tale with the line, "Inside a snowflake like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe," and uttering Seussian favorites like, "And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say — that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."

Hopkins, who won a best actor Oscar in 1992 for his "Silence of the Lambs" performance, continues to be one of the busier actors in Hollywood, well into his 80s. In 2025, Hopkins appeared alongside Bill Skarsgård in the Sam Raimi-produced psychological thriller, "Locked." He also brought Hannibal back for a wacky Instagram video where he wore one of Kim Kardashian's Skims face wraps.

Hopkins is slated to star in "A Visit to Grandpa's," an adaptation of the Dylan Thomas short story of the same name. "This is a powerful and profoundly beautiful story, one that allows me to return to my Welsh roots while exploring the remarkable vision and prose of Dylan Thomas," Hopkins said of the project, via Deadline.

Clarnella Who is one of the Whoville residents who decides to take a young Grinch in and raise him as their own, the other being Rachel Winfree's Rose Who. Despite their kindness, the Grinch ultimately flees from Whoville and makes a new home on Mount Crumpit after being humiliated at school by a young Augustus MayWho. Clarnella's screen time is limited in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," but the character still plays an important role in the Grinch's tragic backstory. As such, director Ron Howard utilized a skilled and recognizable actor in Mindy Sterling to bring Clarnella to life on the big screen.

Sterling is best known for her portrayal of Frau Farbissina in 1997's "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery" and its follow-ups. However, she also played memorable roles in the 2007 Nickelodeon series, "iCarly," and the 1999 film, "Drop Dead Gorgeous." More recently, she voiced Junkyard Kyle and other characters across several episodes of the ongoing animated sitcom "The Great North." She also appeared in the 2025 horror film "Bad Haircut" and participated in a one-night-only reading/performance of Stan Zimmerman's suicide awareness play "Before I Go," which collects the final words of individuals lost to suicide.

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The most tragic tale among the people who brought "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to life was that of Josh Ryan Evans, who played the younger version of the Grinch during an extended flashback sequence in the film's first act. During his life, Evans lived with a form of dwarfism called achondroplasia. As a result, he measured just over 3 feet tall as he entered adulthood and also maintained a childlike appearance along the way. This allowed him to play much younger characters in television series and feature films alike throughout his career. He played a toddler in 1999's "Baby Geniuses," and Timmy, a doll brought to life by a witch's dark magic on the late '90s/early 2000s paranormal soap opera "Passions" (a role which he would play across more than 300 episodes).

Unfortunately, Evans died at the age of 20 on August 5, 2002, just two years after portraying the young Grinch in Ron Howard's film. Complications from a congenital heart condition reportedly led to his death at a San Diego hospital. Nevertheless, he'll be well remembered for his scene-stealing talent. "As it turned out, [Evans] was able to create a character and generate a lot of heart for the story," Howard said of his Grinch performance, via the Los Angeles Times. "Josh was just delightful."

The Grinch is riled at the beginning of Ron Howard's big-screen adaptation by the trespassing on Mount Crumpit of a pair of mischievous Whos (and the girls they're trying to impress). Those Whos just so happened to be Drew Lou Who and Stu Lou Who, the older brothers of Taylor Momsen's Cindy Lou Who.

Drew Lou was played by Jeremy Howard, who only had a handful of credits to his name when he was cast in "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." Most notably, he appeared in 1999's "Star Trek" send-up "Galaxy Quest" and in an episode of "The Drew Carey Show." Post-"Grinch," he could be seen in films like the 2006 Justin Long-Blake Lively comedy "Accepted" and the 2007 Amanda Bynes rom-com "Sydney White." He also voiced and did the motion capture for Donatello in 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and 2016's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows."

In recent years, he appeared in a 2023 episode of the long-running NBC medical drama "Chicago Med" as a patient who wishes not to undergo the treatment necessary to save his body from permanent paralysis. He also appeared in the 2025 short film, "Goldfish," which began its festival run at the LA Shorts International Film Festival.

Cindy Lou Who's other brother, Stu Lou Who, was played by T.J. Thyne in 2000's "How the Grinch Stole Christmas." At the time, Thyne was blowing up in Hollywood following his 1997 graduation from the USC School of Dramatic Arts, booking small roles in several major feature films, including "EDtv," "Erin Brockovich," and "What Women Want," and in television series like "Friends," "Home Improvement," and "Becker" over the next three years. However, he is best known for his role as Dr. Jack Hodgins in the Fox procedural drama series "Bones" from 2005 to 2017.

Thyne appeared on a pair of episodes of "NCIS," CBS' long-running military police procedural, in 2025, and also guested on an episode of the ABC crime drama "High Potential." He also got engaged to his girlfriend, proposing to her in Bali and sharing a romantic video of the occasion with the world via Instagram.