IRON MAIDEN (P. 202): Saucy sixteen-year-old actress turned singer Taylor Momsen is on the verge of rock stardom. With a vamped-up new style and an unstoppable independence, she is breaking into the music scene with her pop-rock band, the Pretty Reckless. The stylish teenager avows, “It wasn’t me that changed—it was just that I decided to start being myself.”
Taylor has been acting professionally for more than a decade, yet music has always been her first passion. She recorded most of her album before signing a deal with Interscope: “I wanted to have it all done so I could say, ‘Here’s who I am, either you like it or you don’t.’” As for her writing process, she holds nothing back admitting, “My lyrics are my diary—you’re hearing every detail on my life.”
Taylor is currently preparing to reign as Constance’s new Queen Bee in season three of Gossip Girl. While hoping the show continues for a few more years, the actress admits, “As for the future, I don’t know. I’m at a point now where I’m not doing anything just for money or fame.”
Unlike her character Little J, Taylor recently finished high school more than two years early, and dismisses the idea of a regular college experience. “College is a place where you learn about yourself, and I feel like I’m doing that already,” she proclaims. “I’m already independent.”
Taylor’s sophistication translates well into her social life—she admits that most of her friends are older. “I live a very adult life,” she says. “I just can’t relate to what [high school kids] talk about—it seems so petty.” As for dating, Taylor is confident in her maturity saying, “I’m not going to date someone who’s sixteen. I would eat a boy my age alive.”
The September issue of Teen Vogue is available on newsstands beginning August 4th.
