A FORMER child star who charmed millions with her performance in a classic Christmas film has stunned fans with an unrecognisable festive throwback.
Taylor Momsen, 30, shone as Cindy Lou Who in the 2000 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
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Since her breakout role at just seven years old, Momsen has gone on to have a successful career as an actress and model, as well as a singer in her rock band the Pretty Reckless.
She starred in the teen drama series Gossip Girl and appeared on the cover of magazines including FHM and Maxim.
But taking to her Instagram, she recently shared a throwback snap of her original breakout role alongside Jim Carrey, to the amazement of her 2million fans.
She posted a “then and now” video of her taking part in an interview and captioned it: “Tis the season… #fromgrinchtogrunge BIG things coming next year!”
One fan wrote: “My heart can’t take this! I love it! Happy holidays.”
Another wrote: “Just the same.”
Many fans expressed their hopes that the picture was teasing a possible sequel to the 2000 original film.
“We need a sequel with you reprising the role but she’s now grown with her own kid,” one commenter wrote.
Others hoped that she would release a rock cover of Where Are You Christmas, which she sung on the soundtrack of The Grinch.
Born in St Louis, Missouri, Momsen said she was signed up for a modelling agency at just two years old by her parents.
She later told an interviewer: “My parents signed me up with Ford [Modelling] at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice.
“My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn’t have friends. I was working constantly and I didn’t have a real life.”
Her first acting credit came at three years old when in 1997 she appeared in an advertisement for Shake ‘n Bake.
In 1999, she was cast in The Prophet’s Game.
Her breakout role came in 2000, when she shone as Cindy Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the massively popular live-action version of the Dr Seuss classic.
For her performance, she received three nominations, including a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for “Favorite Female Newcomer”, a Saturn Award for “Best Performance by a Younger Actor”, and a Young Artist Award for “Best Performance in a Feature Film” by an actress aged ten or under.
A couple of follow-up child actor roles came in the next two years, including as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and the president’s daughter in Spy Kids 2.
Momsen auditioned for the title role in Hannah Montana and got down to the final three where she was pipped by Miley Cyrus.
She later said she was relieved she missed out on the role and said she would have struggled to live up to the ideal of the teen idol.
“Honestly, if I’d have ended up as Hannah Montana, I don’t know if the show would have gone as well,” she told an interviewer in 2010.
“I probably would have told them all to go f*** themselves by the time I hit 11. And I don’t know how that would have gone down.
“It’s great for Miley, but I really like where I am right now and I feel really fortunate to be able to really be myself.”
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In 2007, Momsen was cast in her most famous role to date, that of Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl.
She left at the end of the fourth season to focus on her music career, appearing briefly in the final episode in 2012 in the wedding sequence.
Starting at the age of 14, Momsen also had a successful career as a model, and was the face of New Look in 2010.
She also starred in Madonna’s “Material Girl” fashion line that same year.
In 2010, Momsen appeared on the cover of heavy metal magazine Revolver wearing platform stilettos, thigh-high stockings, and a holster strapped around her leg.
She appeared on the cover of FHM’s March 2012 edition, and was ranked as the 29th hottest woman in the world in its Hot 100 issue that year.
Momsen also made her cover debut for Maxim in the November 2013 issue.
But her main love now is music.
In 2009, Momsen’s band the Pretty Reckless signed a deal with Interscope Records.
Momsen sings lead vocals and plays rhythm guitar in the band, who have recorded four studio albums.
She recently told an interviewer: “Music is where I can be me,” adding: “Acting is easy. I’ve been doing it for so long and I totally love it. But you’re playing a character instead of yourself.
“Music is more personal because you’re writing it and you’re involved in every step of it.”