Why Hollywood Won't Cast Taylor Momsen Anymore

Cindy Lou Who? It may be hard to believe this, but the rebellious, eyeliner-clad rock star you know today as Taylor Momsen played the mini-heroine, Cindy Lou of Whoville, in How the Grinch Stole Christmas in 2000. It was Momsen's breakout role and definitely one of the more notable roles of her short Hollywood career. As little blonde-haired, blue-eyed Cindy Lou, she was the epitome of innocence and all that is good and right with the world during Christmastime. The role branded the then 7-year-old Momsen as America's sweetheart and a good girl who could do no wrong.

From that point on, Momsen was primarily cast in roles that presented her in the "good girl" light. She went on to play the daughter of the President of the United States in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams and even ended up being one of the top choices for the role of Hannah Montana.

In 2007, Momsen was cast as sweet, girl-next-door, Jenny Humphrey, on Gossip Girl. However, as the seasons went on, Momsen's character started acting, well, out of character — about the same time as Momsen herself began a transformation of sorts. Jenny Humphrey, affectionately known as Little J, ditched her homemade dresses and ribbons for platinum blonde hair and heavy eyeliner. It was around that time showrunners decided it was time for Little J to have a reduced role on the hit show. It seems audiences weren't thrilled with Momsen attempting to break out of the mold Hollywood had cast her in.

Despite being cast in notable movies and television shows like How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Spy Kids and Gossip Girl, those roles are pretty much the extent of Momsen's acting career. Between an unaired WB series and a few smaller movie roles, there isn't much to be said for the former actresses' resume. Maybe landing the role of Hannah Montana would have launched Momsen's career in a different direction, or maybe she would have simply swapped places with Miley Cyrus on the list of questionable Disney role models .

It's possible that Hollywood isn't knocking down Momsen's door because they never saw huge potential to begin with. At this point, not even Gossip Girl herself could give Momsen the street cred she needs to make it in Tinseltown.

According to reports from Deadline, Momsen was gradually given less and less air time on Gossip Girl because of her behavior on set. Some of her antics included coming to set unprepared and under-dressed. When Project Runway mentor, Tim Gunn guest-starred on an episode in 2010, he was as vocal about his dislike of Momsen as he is about his dislike of contestants' designs. Clearly Gunn was unable to "make it work" with the starlet who he described as being a "diva" and a "brat". Yikes!

Although Jenny Humphrey was originally a series regular, by the end of season three her appearances on the show were as quick as a New York minute before they stopped altogether in season four and five. Momsen briefly appeared in the season 6 series finale. While Little J fans might have been disappointed to see Momsen's character go, it really didn't come as a huge surprise.

They say you can't believe everything you see on television, but it's pretty hard to believe Momsen is so completely different from her Gossip Girl character. From Tim Gunn's reports to Momsen's complete personality and look overhaul, either she really got into character or Momsen turned Little J into a mini-version of herself. Momsen says the rumors about her less-than-stellar behavior on set is "crap". However, it's a pretty big coincidence that Jenny's downward spiral just happens to perfectly mirror that of Momsen herself. Regardless of it's true or not, Momsen's reputation precedes her and no one in Hollywood wants to touch her with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole.

Now that her time isn't consumed with playing a wannabe Upper East Side socialite, Momsen has had plenty of time to focus on her music career (and her eyeliner). It turns out her indefinite hiatus was definitely a good decision on her part. According to Billboard, Momsen is the first woman to land three consecutive number one hits on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. It's a feat not even achieved by legends like Joan Jett and Stevie Knicks. Her band is also making history for having four consecutive number ones on the rock charts. It seems like Little J is doing pretty well for herself after all.