If you’ve seen Gossip Girl, an American teen drama TV series that aired for six seasons on The CW network from 2007 to 2012, then you know Jenny Humphrey. She was a fictional character more interested in living a life that pleased her rich clique of friends than in pursuing what she loved. The character was portrayed by singer, songwriter, musician, and model Taylor Momsen, who quit acting in 2012 to focus on her music career and the band, The Pretty Reckless.
The character 'Jenny Humphrey' was a regular on the show’s first four seasons but was written out by the producers because Momsen wanted to pursue other endeavors. Here’s everything you need to know about the character and the face behind it.
The Character Of Jenny Humphrey
Jenny Humphrey was a girl from a humble background, living with her father, Rufus Humphrey, and her older brother, Dan Humphrey, in Brooklyn. She was introduced in the first season as a blonde freshman at the famous Constance Billard School for Girls, located on the Upper East Side. The school is mostly attended by the children of the elite.
At Billard, Jenny came into contact with Serena van der Woodsen and Blair Waldorf, who are both from wealthy homes. She became disillusioned with herself and her background, wanting to live the kind of life led by the rich girls.
Her dream was to become a fashion designer, but she lacked the status and money to showcase her talent. To gain that status, she joined Blair’s clique. In the process, she forgot herself and started living their kind of life, dressing and behaving in the manner the clique approved.
She did some inexplicable things, such as selling her sewing machine and stealing an expensive dress from one of her friends, just to keep up with the competition. Sadly, it was later discovered that she stole the dress, leading to conflict.
In terms of relationships, she never had it easy. First, she dated Asher Hornsby, but it was brief as she later discovered he was gay. To save his own skin, he convinced her to say she lost her virginity to him in exchange for privileges. However, she later confessed to not having s*x with him. Secondly, she had another short relationship with Nate Archibald, who she kissed passionately after he rescued her from an older, manipulative photographer. He broke up with her towards the end of season two. Thirdly, she dated Damien Dalgaard, a drug dealer whom she helped sell drugs to his customers, but he broke up with her when she could no longer keep up. Unfortunately, she lost her virginity to Chuck Bass.
Regarding her dreams of becoming a fashion designer, Jenny and Blair overcame their enmity and started working together by creating their own clothing line, “J for Waldorf.”
Taylor Momsen Played Jenny Humphrey
The character of Jenny Humphrey was brought to life by American singer, songwriter, musician, and model Taylor Momsen. She was cast as one of the main characters alongside Blake Lively (Serena van der Woodsen), Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf), Penn Badgley (Dan Humphrey), Chace Crawford (Nate Archibald), Ed Westwick (Chuck Bass), Kelly Rutherford (Lily van der Woodsen), Matthew Settle (Rufus Humphrey), Jessica Szohr (Vanessa Abrams), and Kaylee DeFer (Ivy Dickens).
Taylor was a regular on the show’s first four seasons but not in the last two. She landed the TV role in 2007 when she was 14 years old. However, it wasn’t her first acting role, as she made her acting debut at 7 in Ron Howard’s Christmas fantasy comedy film How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) as Cindy Lou Who, alongside Jim Carrey, Jeffrey Tambor, Christine Baranski, Bill Irwin, and Molly Shannon. Additionally, she played Alexandra Anami in Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams (2002), Gretel in Hansel & Gretel (2002), Samantha Wallace in Saving Shiloh (2006), Molly in Underdog (2007), and Madison Kramer in Spy School (2008).
The Missouri native quit acting in 2012 to focus on her music career and touring with her band, The Pretty Reckless. This was why she had limited appearances in the last two seasons of Gossip Girl. Momsen revealed in a 2014 interview:
I’m very lucky that the producers were nice enough to write me out, allow me to tour, and pursue my passion.
Comments