New York's Party Princess: Taylor MomsenGossip Girl star Taylor Momsen has earned a reputation as a sophisticated It girl-about-town, rubbing elbows with power players and finding her way into the gossip columns (Did she make out with her co-star? Was she hospitalized for "exhaustion"?). But there's just one thing: She's only 15. Rachel Syme catches up with NYC's biggest little lady.
Late on election night, when most of our country's high school sophomores were either in bed or watching TV and wishing that they could participate in the political process, Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen was holding court in a banquette at Midtown's swank Public House. Draped in a blood-red Marchesa evening gown that hugged her tall, lanky frame and looking very much like a young Debbie Harry with her new—and polarizing—rock 'n' roll shag haircut, the blonde 15-year-old seemed remarkably poised in a spot that would make most teenagers pass out. On one side of her sat actress Jessica Alba; on the other was megaproducer and party host Harvey Weinstein with his fashion-designer wife, Georgina Chapman (who was responsible for Taylor's gown and squiring the teen around the fête for the night). The actress was clearly the youngest invitee at the celebration—unable to vote, drink or even stay out past her mom-imposed curfew—but she held her own amid the fashionistas and politicos, cooing about a rock album she is writing and the fashion line she wants to launch someday. Forgoing any signs of giggly teenybopper exuberance for a low, wry hum, she flashed a knowing, subdued smile that usually takes years to perfect. The one thing that gave her age away was the hair, a style that only ever works on the very brave or the very young.
Though it is a complete cliché (made more so by its association with Britney Spears), Taylor is the walking embodiment of "not a girl and not yet a woman." As stars on one of the most talked-about television shows of the last year, she and her Gossip Girl castmates have been thrust into sudden and unrelenting fame. Yet she is more of an industry veteran than many of her co-stars, having broken into feature films at age 7, alongside Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Just a year ago, Taylor had the long locks and brightly colored wardrobe of a little girl, but now she dresses like an adult—she showed up for her Page Six Magazine photo shoot wearing a leather biker jacket and motorcycle boots, pleather leggings, an oversize white tee and a gold necklace in the shape of a revolver. That said, she still slurps down Red Bull and punches texts into her BlackBerry with a speed only a teenager could manage. She hits the town for galas and parties regularly (that is to say: all the time), but is also managed down to the bones by her mother, Colette, a former flight attendant who now monitors Taylor's every move and meal. As for her cigarette habit, which was documented by paparazzi at a recent Christmas party, well, it's either juvenile or a decidedly adult trait, depending on how you view smoking.
It makes sense, this duality (teen stars have long confronted the strange limbo of young fame) but what just might separate Taylor from other starlets is how much she seems to understand and take ownership of her career. She claims to be in search of something more—a mini moguldom that revolves around not just acting, but also fashion and rock 'n' roll. Only time will tell if she follows the mold of Britney—or Natalie Portman.
"I have always been aware of the celebritiness, or whatever you want to call it, of this industry," she says from the Momsen family home in Potomac, Maryland, where she is spending her holiday hiatus from the show. (While filming, she lives with her mother and 12-year-old sister, Sloane, in a Tribeca loft; her father, Michael, visits on weekends.) "But living it is a whole different thing than talking about it. It's still strange when I hang out with my friends at a Christmas party and people make up lies about me," she says in reference to a recent gossip item that claimed she was tipsy and making out with her 23-year-old co-star Chace Crawford at the Gossip Girl holiday bash. "But you have to ignore it and not let it affect your life. I can't be obsessed with those things. It's distracting and destructive. I mean, people just make stuff up!" she continues with a laugh. "It's like, yeah, I'm really going to go to a party with my cast and crew and all the executives at the network and dance on tables. That's a great idea. [Tabloids] all want to make me out as this party girl, and I'm not. I'm underage! All I do is sit at home and play guitar. That's seriously what I do."
Perhaps the little lady doth protest too much: After all, she's now a favorite of party photographers, who snap her at everything from Yves St. Laurent and Chris Benz fashion shows to the grand opening of NYC's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex, where she was seen chatting with her doppelganger, legendary singer Debbie Harry. (Says nightlife blogger Rachelle Hruska of Guestofaguest.com, "It's actually a running joke in our office: 'So where was Taylor Momsen last night?' ") When the actress landed in the hospital with a serious throat infection last October, bloggers buzzed with the notion that this might be another case of "Hollywood exhaustion." Still, Taylor, who was born in St. Louis, emphasizes her "Midwestern values. My mother and I always agreed that [fame] wouldn't take over my life. I'm a Leo—I've always been independent, and this is just the lifestyle I have grown up with and that I have known since I was 3."
This season on Gossip Girl, Taylor's character, Jenny Humphrey, had one of the show's most dramatic story arcs. She took time off from high school to pursue fashion designing full-time, got that edgy new haircut (Taylor's idea) and tried to emancipate herself legally. It's a plotline all about rebellion and a teen's search for her own identity—themes that Taylor understands well.
"I love working on that story line," she says. "Jenny was always waiting to break out as a character, and now she is more definitive. She's not just this little girl who doesn't know what she's doing and is really naïve; she's become a strong-willed person. She has goals and already knows what she wants. It doesn't matter that she is so young."
It's easy to imagine the "she" as "I." Just as Jenny labored over a sewing machine for most of this season, Taylor says she is similarly devoted to making music. "I'm a control freak, and am retarded about having everything the way I want it in terms of production. My music is like my child. I sit in my room and write for four days straight and won't let anyone hear it until I know I can put it out perfectly. Then I'll let people judge it. I'm not going to feel comfortable [with people] criticizing it unless I satisfy myself first."
She explains that the music isn't pop or classic rock, but more on the "punk" end of the spectrum—at this magazine shoot, Taylor blasted Pat Benatar, Joan Jett and Marilyn Manson. She says people will be shocked at the sound of her recordings, and seems deliciously pleased by this idea.
And while her Gossip Girl character may try to disown her parents, Taylor maintains that she is close to her family, relying on Colette to be "her rock." Colette does display some signs of a typical stage mother—in her Dina Lohan–style towering designer heels and cool-mom outfits, she keeps close watch over everything her daughter eats and drinks. (At this photo shoot, she forbade Taylor to consume more than one Red Bull and induced eye rolling when she said the teen could only spend an hour at an upcoming event and would be closely chaperoned. )
The actress and her mother seem to have a mutual understanding, however, that makes their relationship work. It is Taylor who is driving the ship on her career, and not the other way around. "My mom never forced me into acting," she says. "She saw the opportunities for me and said, 'If it's something [you] like, [you] can do it.' I've gone to regular schools and was in a full-time school until last year. This is the first time I've permanently moved for a job—I've always lived at home and commuted. It was always me asking, 'Mommy, can we do another movie?' I realized I could make a life out of this on my own."
And yet, when she talks about music as opposed to acting, Taylor lights up, as if having a secret that only she knows. "I mean, I've acted since I was 3," she says. "I never could give it up, but I can't say I chose it either. Music is this crazy passion for me, it's not something I can deny, and it comes from my soul. That's why it's becoming such a big focus. It's mine."
As for her other love—fashion—she could go on and on, like a kid naming their favorite stuffed animals, only she's talking about $1,000 dresses. "I love Alexander Wang! Oh, and I love Balmain and this new indie designer named Gary Graham. I discovered him; he's so edgy and different. I like the high-end people—YSL, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana. I try not to leave the house without thinking of how I am going to present myself. It's the way I am," she says, pausing for a thoughtful moment. "But I'm not a little kid playing dress up. It's all very real."
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Page Six Magazine
