Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, Jennette McCurdy was the most exciting child acting star to climb up the ranks from Nickelodeon. While she's known best for her work in iCarly and Sam & Cat as Sam Puckett, McCurdy's rise to stardom is a tragic and daunting sob story. Her tumultuous relationship with her late estranged abusive mother Debbie has somewhat stained her acting career post-Nickelodeon, and further affected her personal life.
Fast-forward to 2022, Jennette has fully retired from acting and ventured into much more behind-the-stage works, like writing and directing. Her recent tell-all memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, exclusively entails every behind-the-scene secret of her rise to child stardom, including that toxic relationship with her mother. Here's a look at Jennette McCurdy's life and career after iCarly and what her former Nickelodeon friends have said about her recent hit book.
8 After iCarly, Jennette McCurdy Reprised Her Iconic Character In Sam & Cat
A year after her last appearance in iCarly, Jennette went on to headline its spin-off, Sam & Cat, alongside Ariana Grande from 2013 to 2014. The former Malcolm in the Middle actress further said that she nearly bailed from continuing the story but did it anyway to please her mother.
"I did not know how to find my identity without my mom," she told People back in 2021. "And I'm not going to lie. It was very hard to get here. But now, I'm at a place in my life that I never would have thought was possible. And I finally feel free."
7 Jennette McCurdy Also Started Her Music Career With Her Only Debut Album
Two years after releasing her EP, Jennette McCurdy's full-length self-titled debut album arrived in the summer of 2012. Linking up with Paul Worley and Jay DeMarcus in the production booth, Jennette McCurdy is a 34-minute country-influenced project with pop and R&B influences. Unfortunately, it tanked and failed to chart, leaving the singer to depart Capitol Nashville shortly after.
6 Jennette McCurdy Made Her Production Debut In 2014's What's Next For Sarah?
After departing Nickelodeon, Jennette McCurdy didn't miss a beat and continued to elevate her career in a different way. In 2014, a year after her mother's passing, she launched a brand-new online show called What's Next For Sarah, in which she starred, executive-produced, edited, and wrote. The show itself and her character, Sarah Brandson, are loosely based on her life.
5 Jennette McCurdy Led Sci-Fi Series Between On Netflix
Jennette McCurdy joined Citytv's sci-fi Drama, Between, in 2015. Starring alongside Jesse Carere, Justin Kelly, Samantha Munro, Jordan Todosey, and more. Between centers around Jennette's character, Wiley, as she connects the missing dots of a mysterious disease that has killed over-21-year-old people in her small town.
Unfortunately, after only two seasons, the show seems to be canceled despite there being no official words from the networks about its abrupt end.
4 When Jennette McCurdy Retired From Acting
Unfortunately, Between was also one of Jennette McCurdy's very last acting roles before she retired for good in 2017. She mentioned in a 2018 interview that she didn't feel proud and "ashamed" of "90%" of her acting resume, adding, "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." She ventured into more behind-the-scene work like screenwriting and directing since then.
3 Jennette McCurdy Ventured Into Writing & Directing
Inspired by her mother's death, Jennette McCurdy wrote and directed her first-ever 1-minute short dramedy, Kenny, in 2018, which featured an all-female cast.
She recalled, "My mom died when I was 21. We had a complex relationship, funny at times and heartbreaking at times. For a long time, it was hard for me to admit to myself that losing her was as liberating for me as it was devastating."
2 Jennette McCurdy's Recent Tell-All Memoir, 'I'm Glad My Mom Died,' Has Been A Hit
Other than Kenny, Jennette McCurdy also wrote for The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and Seventeen, and formed a one-woman tragicomedy show, I'm Glad My Mom Died, in 2020 which later transformed into a memoir.
1 What Jennette McCurdy's Former iCarly Co-Star Said About The Book
Miranda Cosgrove, who starred in iCarly's 2021 revival series, has spoken highly of her former castmate. In an interview with The New York Times, she said, "When you’re young, you’re so in your own head ... You can’t imagine that people around you are having much harder struggles."
"Anything that she wants to do with her life, I just want her to be happy,” she told Bustle back in 2021 after learning about Jennette's decision not to partake in the revival. “I try to look back on all the weird, embarrassing things as just fun memories. It is what it is."
