Woman who played Cindy Lou in The Grinch explains negative impact it had her life growing up

The woman who played Cindy Lou Who in How The Grinch Stole Christmas has opened up about what it was like on set of the iconic Christmas flick and the struggles she faced following its release in 2000.

Taylor Momsen was just seven when she portrayed the innocent young character in the Christmas classic, starring alongside Jim Carrey in his iconic performance as the green-skinned Grinch in Who-ville.

Although most of us probably still have the film on our December watch lists, especially as Carrey's character becomes more and more relatable as we get older, Momsen has spoken honestly about some of the struggles she faced as a young girl in the wake of her acting debut.

Momsen, now 32, went on to appear in Gossip Girl and Spy Kids 2, but called it quits in 2012 and pursued music instead, linking up with The Pretty Reckless, while she's also toured with AC/DC.

However, she's admitted that she will always be Cindy Lou deep down, and opened up about the chaos of her childhood while speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast today (5 November).

Momsen is a popular musician these days (Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)

She said: "Grinch to me was always great, I don't have any bad memories with Grinch . Everything about it was awesome. It was super fun, I was super young.

"It was such an incredible project to be a part of that was so upper echelon at such a young age, to see actors of that calibre. And then it was also my first experience in a recording studio.

"When the movie came out and I was in school, you're teased relentlessly for it. You're Grinch girl. I moved around a lot. All of that stuff was hard for me as a kid.

Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who (Universal Studios)

"But when I got older and looking back on it, I go, 'No, all of those things that happened and all of those experiences of making this film was wonderful.'

"And so why am I shunning this? I am Cindy Lou Who. I am that girl. I'm still that girl."

It's a shame that Momsen suffered at the hands of bullies, which likely just stemmed from jealousy due to the immense popularity of the Christmas hit.

Momsen wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last to face strife as a young name in the industry, with other notable examples such as Macaulay Culkin and Dakota Fanning both speaking about their respective struggles.