Taylor Momsen (left) and Jim Carrey in 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas.' Courtesy of Everett Collection Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment Jim Carrey and How the Grinch Stole Christmas co-star Taylor Momsen reunited this month for the first time in 25 years - and the unexpected circumstances bringing them together felt like a holiday miracle. On Nov. 17, 2000, Universal Pictures released Ron Howard's live-action adaptation of Dr. Seuss' 1957 children's book of the same name that had previously been the basis for the 1966 animated TV special. Despite some grumbling from critics, the movie was a smash. It collected $346 million worldwide and was the year's highest-grossing title domestically, in addition to winning the Oscar for best makeup, en route to becoming a holiday favorite. The feature stars Carrey as the titular green outcast who despises Christmas and Momsen as young Whoville resident Cindy Lou Who. Related Stories Music Billy Idol Shares New Song "Dying to Live" for Upcoming Doc 'Billy Idol Should Be Dead' (Exclusive) TV How to Stream the 2025 Latin Grammys Online During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter to celebrate the movie's 25th anniversary, Momsen explains the unlikely coincidences that brought her and Carrey to reconnect at this month's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where Momsen performed onstage with Soundgarden, while Carrey introduced the group. Momsen - the Gossip Girl alum who left the Hollywood industry years ago to pursue music full-time with her band the Pretty Reckless - also discusses the one part about playing Cindy that she disliked, her new cover version of the film's song "Where Are You Christmas?" and whether she misses acting. Jim Carrey (left) and Taylor Momsen attend the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 8. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images I don't think that people realized at the time that the film would become so embraced. I was just [speaking to someone], and they were talking about negative press [for Grinch], which I was never aware of because I was so little. I started the audition process at 5, and then it came out when I was 7. You take something that's so beloved like the original Grinch cartoon and try to transform it into something new, of course that's going to be met with some resistance. But the film that Ron made is so heartwarming. How can you not love it? It's for children; it's for adults. The core story is so universal. It's just amazing. How was your audition process? I don't totally remember the very beginning of it. I was going on a lot of auditions at the time, but I remember everyone telling me how important [this one] was. The screen-testing is what sticks in my brain, when it was finally down to the last two or three girls, and we started to play with the costumes. Suddenly, wigs were brought into play and funky clothing, which was just such a fun process for me as a kid. Getting to put on a neon pink wig and play dress up and be this character, it really started to make Cindy feel real. After I booked it, they went in a very different direction than the original screen testing and went with a natural hair color. So she was going to have pink hair at one point. There was a pink one. There was a green one. I remember walking into the hair and makeup room to get ready for the screen-testing, and all these different colored wigs laid out and displayed on the table. We went through different ones, matching skin tones. [Special makeup effects artist] Rick Baker actually casted my face. At one point, I was going to have prosthetics. They opted against that, thankfully, and I agree with that choice. (Laughs.) That might have been a bit much for me as a kid. It was so much fun to get to become Cindy every day. It wasn't like your average set, where you put on a little blush. You really were transforming into a character. Taylor Momsen (left) and Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Courtesy of Everett Collection What was Ron like as a director? He was great. Everyone on that set, they became my surrogate family. From Ron being just the guiding light of all of it, and so understanding, communicative and gentle with me - just such a great leader in every way, shape or form. And Jim was the most protective and so caring about me as a person and constantly checking in, making sure I was OK, making sure I ate enough. And same with [onscreen parents] Molly [Shannon] and Bill [Irwin]. They became my surrogate parents. I was raised in Whoville. It never felt like a job. I hated going back to the hotel at the end of the night. Do you recall any challenges during the shoot? I don't think "challenging" would be the right word. I got to do all my own stunts, so that was a new experience, but a totally fun one. So I got to go