Quotes

I smoke, so what? Why do people give a shit what a 16-year-old girl who they've never met does? It's not like I'm sitting there going, "Kids, you should go buy a pack of cigarettes". When I walk outside with a cigarette and someone takes a picture of it and puts it on the Internet, it's not my problem. I'm just living my life and I'm not gonna live my life for other people.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) changed my life in a multitude of ways, one of them being I was made fun of relentlessly. So any time I would start school or go somewhere else, I don't even think the kids knew my name. I was just Grinch girl. So it was, 'Grinch girl, Grinch girl, Grinch girl'. Not even character name. Just Grinch girl. I got used to it, but it was alienating.

There's a lot of things in my past that wouldn't have necessarily been my choices but at the same time, going back in time and changing something, I wouldn't want to do that because I like where I came out.

I don't wanna be Courtney Love - I wanna be Kurt Cobain.

I really enjoy English and poetry and writing classes. You do get writer's block when you're writing music, and having inspiration from other great writers is great. You have to look for inspiration because sometimes music isn't the only thing that you can look at.

'Darkness' is a subjective word; it depends what your viewpoint is and how you live life.

Generally, I like making my own mistakes and learning from them because that's what I think life is about.

[2025, on if she misses acting] No. Acting was something that I did from such a young age. I started at 2, and so at 2 years old, you're not making your own choices. I don't even mean that in a negative way. It was the same as going to school. It was just something that was a part of my life. When I got to an age that I realized it was a job, and it was a choice, and it was something I didn't have to do, it all became very clear to me. I always wanted to make music. In the moment that I put the band together, all those pieces fall into place. It was a very simple decision for me to leave the job behind and solely focus on music.

[condolence to 'Gossip Girl' co-star Michelle Trachtenberg] I am so grateful to have had a friend like you in my life for so long. You were a true friend to me which is a rarity in this world and I can't believe I won't hear your voice again. I grieve with all her fans around the world, and my heart is with her family and loved ones.

[on first doing music while working on 'The Grinch'] As a kid, when I found out Cindy was going to sing in the movie, I don't think I'd ever been so excited. I loved singing, and I had just started writing songs around that time. I didn't realize what a huge impact getting to go into the studio would have on my life. It was my first studio training, where a producer was giving me tricks of the trade. It's where I fell in love with the recording studio, and to this day, the recording studio is my favorite place in the world to be.

[2025, thoughts on 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas'] The 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, but there were so many, 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 caliber and Jim Carrey and Molly Shannon etc. and Ron Howard.

[on leaving 'Gossip Girl' to focus on music] It was an easy decision for me. To actually get out of a contract was not easy. It was a very long battle of me arguing with everyone and going, 'Get me outta this. I can't do this anymore. This is killing me. I have something else I want to do with my life, and it has nothing to do with this, and I can't be stuck here anymore'.