After Gossip Girl ended, Taylor Momsen turned the page and never flipped back.
Though she speaks affectionately of Jenny Humphrey—she hopes the aspiring designer is busy "making some awesome clothes, doing what she loves"—the singer didn't think of acting as much more than a placeholder until she was free to do what she really wanted.
Pursuing music "was never a pivot for me," Momsen told E! News' Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview. "I grew up writing songs and I've been singing since before I can remember. As soon as I could write, it became this way for me to express myself. I played in bands in middle school and I was always working at this."
She added, "Acting was always a day job. It was a cool experience, but it was my childhood."
So, Momsen formed her band The Pretty Reckless while living in New York and, when she turned 18 in 2011, "I quit everything else and just focused on music. It was the best decision I ever made, because it's my true passion."
But while she's living the dream—she and bandmates Ben Phillips, Mark Damon and Jamie Perkins will be opening for The Rolling Stones in Las Vegas May 11 and then join AC/DC's Power Up Tour starting May 17 in Germany—she prefers to express herself through her lyrics.
"Talking about music has always been a struggle," the 30-year-old admitted. "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture. It's something you have to hear to understand."
To be sure, though, when she's writing songs, "I draw from my life, from my personal experiences—it covers the highs and lows and everything in between."
The How the Grinch Stole Christmas alum funneled all the pain and hopelessness she was feeling following the deaths of Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell in 2017 and producer Kato Khandwala in 2018 into The Pretty Reckless' fourth studio album, Death by Rock and Roll.
All she would divulge about their next album was that it was "going phenomenally" before they were lured away to tour, but after the last chord has been strummed Momsen plans on jetting right back to the studio.
"Every record's a journey and I don't really know where that journey's gonna end up until it's finished," she explained. "But we've taken a step forward in our art and I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I'm going with it."
In the meantime, she'd already been having a blast just rehearsing every night with her band, a process she loves "because it's just the four of us making music without the pressure of the show," she said. But when they do take the stage in front of an audience, "we're going to do our thing like we always do."
Only this time, she has "this new outlook on life," she shared. "One with the universe, be breezy and don't overthink things too much. And I'm sure that these experiences we're about to have with the Stones and AC/DC, there'll be something to draw from as well. Everything happens for a reason, to a degree, so I'm sure there'll be songs that aren't written yet."
And a lot has happened to prove to Momsen she was right to trust her instincts at such an early age.
She'd tell child actors trying to navigate life in the public eye to "know it's a bunch of crap," Momsen added. "Do what you love, focus on your craft and yourself as a human being, and take care of yourself."
Going after her dream of being in a rock band "was the best decision I ever made," she noted. "Anyone who is in this industry, it's very easy to get pulled in different directions. As long as you keep your sense of self and your center, and follow what you really want, then you're never disappointed."
So, while it may have looked at times as if Momsen was going through some big transformation—though she was evolving, "as you do as a human"—she was really just coming into her own.
"This is who I always was," she said. "I feel very at peace with myself and that's a nice place to live."
Nicer, even, than the Upper East side. Keep reading to see where the rest of the sprawling cast of Gossip Girl is now:
The actress, who portrayed It Girl Serena van der Woodsen, has been keeping very busy since the end of Gossip Girl. A few months prior to the 2012 finale, Lively tied the knot with actor Ryan Reynolds and they're now the proud parents to four kids: daughters James, Inez and Betty and a baby born in 2023, whose name and sex has not been revealed. In recent years, she's starred in hit movies The Age of Adaline, The Shallows, A Simple Favor and The Rhythm Section.
Lonely Boy no more! Badgley, who portrayed Dan Humphrey (who, spoiler alert, was ultimately revealed to be Gossip Girl), has been making headlines for his turn as stalker Joe Goldberg on the hit Netflix series You.
On a more personal note, Badgley is also a married man. The actor tied the knot with Domino Kirke, the sister of Girls actress Jemima Kirke, in Feb. 2017. They welcomed their first baby together in August 2020. Of course, fans of GG remember Badgley and Lively dated during the show's early run before splitting in 2010.
The actress, who portrayed Blair Waldorf, has been making a splash in the comedy world in recent years, starring in ABC's Single Parents.
Meester married actor Adam Brody (aka The O.C.'s Seth Cohen) and they're parents of a daughter named Arlo, born in 2015, and a son born in 2020, whose name has not been revealed.
For six seasons, viewers swooned over Crawford's character Nate Archibald. Since the 2012 finale, Crawford has starred in ABC's Blood & Oil, as well as films Eloise and All About Nina. Crawford now stars in the Amazon original series The Boys.
Westwick rose to fame as Chuck Bass and after hanging up his character's signature scarf, he went on to appear in 2013's Romeo & Juliet and star in 2015's short-lived ABC drama Wicked City. He also starred in the British TV series White Gold.
In the fall of 2017, the Los Angeles Police Department started an investigation into sexual assault allegations made by several women against Westwick, which he denied. In July 2018, the Los Angeles County District Attorney declined to prosecute Westwick after determining there wasn't enough evidence to file charges in two instances and a third accuser failed to cooperate with investigators.
Little J has come a long way since her days trying to snag a place in Blair's crew. Momsen was just 14 when she starred as Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl, though she left the show in 2010 as music was her ultimate passion from an early age. She went on to form and front her band The Pretty Reckless when she was 17. They have released four studio albums.
As for a potential return to acting? "I never say never anymore in life, especially now with all the curveballs the world is throwing everyone," she told E! in March at the 2022 iHeartRadio Music Awards, her first red carpet in five years. "But no immediate plans."
Szohr burst onto the Hollywood scene with her breakout role as Vanessa Abrams in GG. Since that time, the actress has appeared in films The Internship, Ted 2 and Two Night Stand. She's also been on TV shows Kingdom, Shameless and The Orville.
She gave birth to daughter Bowie Ella with hockey pro fiancé Brad Richardson in January 2021.
Since the finale in 2012, the snarky narrator—who returned for the reboot—tied the knot with longtime love Dax Shepard, with whom she shares daughters Lincoln and Delta. In the acting world, the actress starred in Hulu's Veronica Mars revival and NBC's The Good Place. Bell also fronted the Bad Moms films and voices Anna in Disney's Frozen and Frozen 2.
Remember when Bucky Barnes was on was on Gossip Girl? That's right, the actor appeared in 11 episodes of the CW series as bad boy Carter Baizen from 2007 to 2010 and dated Leighton Meester during that time.
Since his time on the show, Stan has become a household name thanks to his role as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in the Captain America and Avengers films. He recently starred on Disney+'s The Falcon and Winter Soldier opposite Anthony Mackie and in Hulu's Pam & Tommy.
It's hard to believe it's been a decade since Duff made a guest appearance on GG. In her six-episode arc, she appeared as Hollywood star Olivia Burke, who sparked a romance with Dan while at NYU and infamously engaged in a threesome with the not-so-Lonely Boy and his BFF Vanessa.
Since then, Duff starred in her own hit TV series, Younger and, more recently, How I Met Your Father. She was about to step back into Lizzie McGuire's platform sandals for a Disney+ revival, but it didn't work out due to differing creative visions.
In 2019, the "So Yesterday" singer married musician Matthew Koma, and they share daughters Banks and Mae, who the couple welcomed in March 2021. She's also mom to son Luca from her relationship with Mike Comrie.