Jennette McCurdy

Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American singer-songwriter, filmmaker, and former actress. McCurdy had her breakthrough playing Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly (2007–2012), a role that won her four Kids' Choice Awards, among other accolades. She reprised the character in its spin-off series Sam & Cat (2013–2014), after which she exited the network. She has appeared in a number of other television series, including Malcolm in the Middle (2003–2005), Zoey 101 (2005), Lincoln Heights (2007), True Jackson, VP (2009–2010) and Victorious (2012).

McCurdy produced, wrote, and starred in her own web series titled What's Next for Sarah? (2014), and led the science-fiction series Between (2015–2016) before quitting acting in 2017, in order to pursue a career in writing and directing. From February to March 2020, her tragicomedy one-woman show I'm Glad My Mom Died was performed in theaters across Los Angeles and New York City; plans for further dates were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She confirmed in March 2021 on her podcast Empty Inside in an interview with Anna Faris that she does not foresee herself ever returning to acting.

In music, McCurdy independently released her debut single "So Close" in 2009. She released her debut extended play, Not That Far Away, in 2010. Her eponymous second extended play was released in 2012, followed by her eponymous debut studio album later that year. Its lead single "Generation Love" debuted at number 57 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and peaked at number 44.

McCurdy was born on June 26, 1992, in Los Angeles and raised in Garden Grove, California. She is the youngest of four children, and has three older brothers. She was raised in what she has described as a "dysfunctional Mormon family".

When McCurdy was 3 years old, her mother, Debbie, was diagnosed with breast cancer, and underwent several surgeries, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant.

2000–2006: Career beginnings

McCurdy started her acting career in 2000 at the age of eight on Mad TV. In 2002, McCurdy also appeared in Stark as Rocky's sister. Since then she appeared in television series, including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Malcolm in the Middle, Lincoln Heights, Will & Grace, The Penguins of Madagascar, Zoey 101, True Jackson, VP, Law and Order SVU, Medium, Judging Amy, The Inside, Karen Sisco, Over There, and Close to Home. In 2003, she had the chance to act with her inspiration, Harrison Ford, in the film Hollywood Homicide. In 2005, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Television Series – Guest Starring Young Actress for her performance in Strong Medicine as Hailey Campos. She has also appeared in several commercials, such as one for Sprint and a public service announcement on crossing the road safely.

2007–2012: iCarly and music

In 2007, she won a starring role in the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly as Sam Puckett, a series she would be a part of until its end in 2012. In 2008, she was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her work on iCarly and her performance as Dory Sorenson in the TV movie The Last Day of Summer. She was nominated for a 2009 Teen Choice Award in the Favorite TV Sidekick category for her work on iCarly. She played Bertha in Fred: The Movie, a movie based on a YouTube series about Fred Figglehorn.

In June 2008, McCurdy announced on her official website that she was working on her debut album. The first single, "So Close", was released on March 10, 2009. On May 19 her cover of the Amanda Stott song "Homeless Heart" was released. The song was released in honor of McCurdy's recently deceased friend Cody Waters, who died at the age of nine from brain cancer, and 20% of the proceeds were donated to the Cody Waters Foundation. She met Waters through St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In mid-2009, McCurdy signed with country music label Capitol Records Nashville. On April 16, 2010, samples of select songs from McCurdy's upcoming debut country album were released online. The song clips were released for fans to vote for which one they believed should be McCurdy's first radio single. "Not That Far Away" received the most votes, and was released to country radio on May 24, 2010, and iTunes on June 1.

McCurdy's debut extended play, Not That Far Away, was released on August 17, 2010. Her second single, "Generation Love", was released as a digital download on March 22, 2011, followed by its release to radio on April 25, 2011. McCurdy's eponymous second extended play was released on February 8, 2012 at clothing retailer Justice. Her eponymous debut studio album was released later that year on June 5, 2012. On July 11, 2012, Fanlala released an interview with McCurdy in which she confirmed that she has since left Capitol Nashville, saying, "I'm kind of between projects right now. I actually just left Capitol Records recently. I'm really just deciding what else I want to do next. Right now I'm working on my new show, and I'm just figuring out where I should take my music from here." On July 31, 2012, How to Rock released an interview with McCurdy, in which she talked about her acting and music careers. A follow-up interview was released on August 8, in which McCurdy reflects on her music career.

2013–2015: Sam and Cat and Between

McCurdy starred alongside Ariana Grande in the Nickelodeon series Sam & Cat, reprising her role as Sam Puckett, with Grande reprising her role as Cat Valentine. The series' plot centers on the girls becoming roommates and starting their own babysitting business. It premiered on June 8, 2013. In 2014, McCurdy was absent from the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Explaining her absence, McCurdy stated that Nickelodeon put her in an "uncomfortable, compromising, unfair situation" where she had to look out for herself, and McCurdy and Grande were having disagreements with the network over their respective salaries, and that McCurdy accused Nickelodeon of paying Grande more money. The network placed Sam & Cat into hiatus. The network initially stated that the hiatus was planned and that the series was not cancelled. On July 13, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that, after only one season, Sam & Cat was cancelled. In an interview on Entertainment Pop, McCurdy mentioned that she later made up with Grande.

On August 13, 2014, McCurdy launched the online show What's Next for Sarah?. She served as the star of the series as well as the writer of the show, along with duties as executive producer and editor. She says that the show is based loosely on her life and that the character she plays, Sarah Bronson, is based on her.

In 2015, she began starring in the Netflix drama series Between. It was also announced that she would star in teen comedy Little Bitches alongside Virginia Gardner and Kiersey Clemons.

2016–present: Later work and retirement from acting

In August 2016, McCurdy signed a deal to develop projects with digital production company Canvas Media Studios to further utilize her social media connections with fans. She also starred as Claire in the psychological thriller film Pet.

Between was not renewed for a third season and, while critics acknowledged McCurdy as "one of the few cast members who can act", she expressed on her website that she felt ashamed of 90% of her résumé. She eventually decided to quit acting and to pursue writing and directing in 2017:

"I never got the chance to be cast in a project I was proud to be part of. Now I have a better chance of making things I'm proud of than getting cast in things I'm proud of."

— Jennette McCurdy, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 October 2018

Once a very active user of Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram, she deleted all her posts on social media from the past and had set all her past videos and vlogs "private" on YouTube and Vimeo.

In 2018, McCurdy made her debut as a film director with a short film titled Kenny. The dramedy film, both written and directed by her, was inspired by the death of her mother and features an all-female crew. Kenny was featured in The Hollywood Reporter and on Short of the Week. She has since released three short films she wrote and directed: The Grave, The McCurdys, a semi-autobiographical short based on her childhood, and Strong Independent Women, a short that deals with eating disorders. In late 2018, she announced that she hopes to direct more films.

In 2020, she created and starred in a one-woman tragicomedy show, "I'm Glad My Mom Died", in various theaters in Los Angeles and New York. She later had to set her show into hiatus after the coronavirus pandemic reached the United States. For the first time since she opened up publicly about her eating disorder in 2019, she posted a new video on YouTube where she sings about her personal implications by finding herself in quarantine due to the outbreak. In July 2020, McCurdy posted a video on her YouTube channel and social media where she sings about her starting a podcast called Empty Inside.

In February 2021, McCurdy revealed that she did not see herself returning to acting, stating that she has been "ashamed" of the roles she had played in the past. She went on to say that she initially began acting to provide for her family, but quit after her mother died.

Writing

In 2011, McCurdy began writing a series of articles for The Wall Street Journal. She has written eight pieces for the paper, on topics ranging from Shirley Temple to body shaming and a corporate culture which she perceives as smoke and mirrors. She has also written for Seventeen magazine and The Huffington Post.

Though she was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, McCurdy left the religion in her early adulthood, citing fundamental issues with church doctrine.

McCurdy composed an article titled "Off-Camera, My Mom's Fight With Cancer", which was published in The Wall Street Journal in June 2011. It describes in detail her mother Debra's ongoing battle with cancer and how her family coped with the situation. The article also features advice from McCurdy on living with an ill parent. On September 20, 2013, her mother died after battling cancer for 17 years.

In October 2021, McCurdy revealed that she was emotionally and sexually abused by her mother. She stated that her mother was "obsessed with making [her] a star" and detailed how her mother contributed to her eating disorder. She also revealed that until she was 17 years old her mother performed vaginal and breast exams on her and never let her shower alone. McCurdy said that she refused to appear in the revival of iCarly because of the reminder of her mother's abuse on the original show, and that her appearance on Sam & Cat was done to please her mother.

Health issues

In March 2019, McCurdy publicly revealed in an article published by The Huffington Post that she had suffered from anorexia, and later bulimia nervosa, from age 11. In the article, McCurdy describes her mother's and the entertainment industry's aiding of disordered eating, seeking help after her sister-in-law noticed the disorder, and various "come-to-Jesus moments" such as once losing a tooth from regurgitating stomach fluids that wore down her tooth enamel and passing out on Miranda Cosgrove's bathroom floor from dehydration.

In addition to her struggles with eating disorders, McCurdy is a recovering alcoholic, having begun drinking heavily shortly before her mother's death. In a 2020 podcast episode, McCurdy briefly mentioned that she struggled with obsessive–compulsive disorder as a child.

Film

Television

Video games

Music videos

Web

Director

• Jennette McCurdy (2012)