Taylor Momsen: 'I've Never Really Fit In Anywhere'
by Jeanne Wolf
Taylor Momsen is doing just fine in primetime on the CW'sGossip Girl, playing Jenny Humphrey, a Brooklyn girl who is realizing her dream of becoming Queen Bee at a pricey prep school on New York City's Upper East Side.
But the 16-year-old is just as determined to score as a singer with her band, The Pretty Reckless. Momsen told Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf why music is the love of her life and what to expect when Gossip Girl returns tonight.
Jenny will still be Jenny.
"Jenny gets in a lot of trouble -- what else is new? I'm not really sure what I'm allowed to say or what I'm not. I don't want to give anything away because I don't watch the show every week. But Jenny gets involved with a couple of different guys and there's lots of drama. As I said, it's Gossip Girl, so would you expect anything different?"
See photos of Taylor Momsen
Connecting with Jenny's identity search.
"She has money now, but she still never really fits in. That's been the constant struggle for her since day one, looking to be accepted. But whether she's the bitchy mean girl or the nice girl from Brooklyn, she still never fully finds herself. It's been kind of like that for me my whole life. I've never really fit in anywhere. I've been to a lot of different schools and I've had a very strange life growing up. It was always a struggle."
How well do you know Gossip Girl? Take the quiz!
Finding herself.
"I've done an album. Music is where I can be me. I really do it because I love it, honestly. It's what I want to do with my life. I mean, it's my only goal. Acting is easy. I've been doing it for so long and I totally love it. But you're playing a character instead of yourself. Music is more personal because you're writing it and you're involved in every step of it. I've been writing songs since I was, like, five and I've been singing since, like, I can't remember. But talking about music is like, as Elvis Costello said, 'Dancing about architecture.' Music speaks for itself, so I'm excited for people to finally hear my songs and let them speak for themselves."
Expect to be surprised.
"It's rock and roll, but nothing like I did when I went on tour with the Veronicas last year. A lot of that stuff is on YouTube but it's not what you'll hear on the record. It's very personal. I'm not going to change for anybody and I'm not interested in changing the sound of my music or changing anything about the way I am just to sell something."
Taylor Momsen Won't Date Boys Her Own Age
She's doing it her way.
"I don't read that crap that describes me as having an attitude, but I don't know why that's a bad thing. Attitude is in the eye of the beholder. I didn't get into this to be a role model for 7-year-olds. I have no interest in doing that, you know? If parents don't like some of the stuff I do then they shouldn't let their kids watch me."
Like, her smoking.
"I smoke, so what? Why do people give a s— what a 16-year-old girl who they've never met does? It's not like I'm sitting there going, 'Kids, you should go buy a pack of cigarettes.' When I walk outside with a cigarette and someone takes a picture of it and puts it on the Internet, its not my problem. I'm just living my life and I'm not gonna live my life for other people."
Not playing the fame game.
"I'm not Paris Hilton. I don't really care about being a celebrity. It comes along with the territory so you can't totally avoid it. But there's a difference between doing the red carpet and having people invade my personal life taking pictures of me. And that's why celebrity is so stupid. You don't want to become something that a few million people watching your show want you to be. I want to be who I am because, if I lose that, then what am I doing this for? It's not about fitting in. If you don't fit in as yourself, then you don't fit in."
What she got from her parents.
"They've never cramped my creativity. They've allowed me to be myself, which I think is the best thing you can do. If you try to change your child and morph them into what you wish you were like, they're not being themselves. You have to allow them to grow and develop the way they want. They love me for who I am, which is really what's important."
But the 16-year-old is just as determined to score as a singer with her band, The Pretty Reckless. Momsen told Parade.com's Jeanne Wolf why music is the love of her life and what to expect when Gossip Girl returns tonight.
Jenny will still be Jenny.
"Jenny gets in a lot of trouble -- what else is new? I'm not really sure what I'm allowed to say or what I'm not. I don't want to give anything away because I don't watch the show every week. But Jenny gets involved with a couple of different guys and there's lots of drama. As I said, it's Gossip Girl, so would you expect anything different?"
See photos of Taylor Momsen
Connecting with Jenny's identity search.
"She has money now, but she still never really fits in. That's been the constant struggle for her since day one, looking to be accepted. But whether she's the bitchy mean girl or the nice girl from Brooklyn, she still never fully finds herself. It's been kind of like that for me my whole life. I've never really fit in anywhere. I've been to a lot of different schools and I've had a very strange life growing up. It was always a struggle."
How well do you know Gossip Girl? Take the quiz!
Finding herself.
"I've done an album. Music is where I can be me. I really do it because I love it, honestly. It's what I want to do with my life. I mean, it's my only goal. Acting is easy. I've been doing it for so long and I totally love it. But you're playing a character instead of yourself. Music is more personal because you're writing it and you're involved in every step of it. I've been writing songs since I was, like, five and I've been singing since, like, I can't remember. But talking about music is like, as Elvis Costello said, 'Dancing about architecture.' Music speaks for itself, so I'm excited for people to finally hear my songs and let them speak for themselves."
Expect to be surprised.
"It's rock and roll, but nothing like I did when I went on tour with the Veronicas last year. A lot of that stuff is on YouTube but it's not what you'll hear on the record. It's very personal. I'm not going to change for anybody and I'm not interested in changing the sound of my music or changing anything about the way I am just to sell something."
Taylor Momsen Won't Date Boys Her Own Age
She's doing it her way.
"I don't read that crap that describes me as having an attitude, but I don't know why that's a bad thing. Attitude is in the eye of the beholder. I didn't get into this to be a role model for 7-year-olds. I have no interest in doing that, you know? If parents don't like some of the stuff I do then they shouldn't let their kids watch me."
Like, her smoking.
"I smoke, so what? Why do people give a s— what a 16-year-old girl who they've never met does? It's not like I'm sitting there going, 'Kids, you should go buy a pack of cigarettes.' When I walk outside with a cigarette and someone takes a picture of it and puts it on the Internet, its not my problem. I'm just living my life and I'm not gonna live my life for other people."
Not playing the fame game.
"I'm not Paris Hilton. I don't really care about being a celebrity. It comes along with the territory so you can't totally avoid it. But there's a difference between doing the red carpet and having people invade my personal life taking pictures of me. And that's why celebrity is so stupid. You don't want to become something that a few million people watching your show want you to be. I want to be who I am because, if I lose that, then what am I doing this for? It's not about fitting in. If you don't fit in as yourself, then you don't fit in."
What she got from her parents.
"They've never cramped my creativity. They've allowed me to be myself, which I think is the best thing you can do. If you try to change your child and morph them into what you wish you were like, they're not being themselves. You have to allow them to grow and develop the way they want. They love me for who I am, which is really what's important."
