Nickelodeon’s iCarly remains one of the most beloved sitcoms of the '00s. Thanks to the show, Miranda Cosgrove, who portrayed the show’s main protagonist, Carly Shay, grew up enjoying all the perks of stardom. Owing to the show’s popularity, Cosgrove became one of the highest-paid child actors of 2012 and went on to have an illustrious acting/music career after the show wrapped.
Unfortunately, starring in the iconic show was not a walk in the park for some. Jennette McCurdy, who portrayed the petulant Sam Puckett on the show, recently published a tell-all detailing her terrible experience with child stardom. McCurdy even declined to reprise her role in Paramount’s iCarly reboot, despite being offered a hefty compensation package. Given that Cosgrove and McCurdy practically grew up on iCarly, one might wonder whether Cosgrove had a similar experience with child stardom. Here’s how the Despicable Me star feels about starring in iCarly today.
8 Miranda Cosgrove Grew Up Playing Carly Shay
Like most ‘90s kids, Carly Shay was a focal point of Miranda Cosgrove’s childhood. Practically all of Cosgrove’s childhood memories were made on the iCarly set.
“I totally grew up on the show,” she told the Reign with Josh Smith podcast in September. “I had my first kiss on the show. I had pretty much all my first crushes, which sometimes were people on the show. It was sort of like my version of high school. All of my memories from my childhood were on that set.”
7 Being A Child Star Was A Lot Of Pressure For Miranda Cosgrove
Like most child stars, Miranda Cosgrove has acknowledged that growing up in the limelight came with overwhelming pressure.
“For sure there was pressure,” she said. “Even when you’re not on TV or acting or anything, just growing up, there’s a lot of pressure to try to figure so many things out.”
6 Miranda Cosgrove Found It Difficult To Ignore The Critics As A Child Star
Miranda Cosgrove rose to prominence at a time when internet usage was becoming quite prevalent. As a result, the star found herself unable to ignore the constant criticism from internet trolls.
“When I was younger, I would go through and kind of ignore all the nice comments and look for the one mean one,” she admitted. “I would be going through for a while and be like, ‘Oh, found it!’”
5 Miranda Cosgrove Took A Break From Acting After iCarly
After iCarly closed its final chapter in 2012, Miranda Cosgrove thought it prudent to place her acting career on a temporary hiatus and pursue a college education.
“I’d been acting for so long and I really made the choice to kinda let that go for a while and see what a college experience would be like,” she explained. “And it wasn’t just about having the college experience but also figuring out if there were other things I might really enjoy beyond acting.”
4 Miranda Cosgrove’s Life Changed When She Joined College
Years of living in the limelight had denied Miranda Cosgrove a normal childhood experience. Fortunately, things took a turn for the better when the star earned a spot at the University of Southern California.
"My whole life changed, but it was awesome,” she shared. “I made a lot of friends and I got to just take classes that I was interested in. I tried photography and I ended up majoring in psychology, and it was just a really solid, good experience.”
3 Miranda Cosgrove’s Experience On iCarly Was Mostly Positive
Unlike her co-star, Jennette McCurdy, whose experience with child stardom was undeniably traumatic, Miranda found starring in iCarly incredibly rewarding.
“I think everybody has different experiences with child acting,” she explained to Variety in June, “and I know a lot of people look at it like it can be a really negative experience and I do feel really lucky, it was mostly positive.”
2 Miranda Cosgrove Credits Her Positive Experience On iCarly To Her Parents
Miranda Cosgrove’s experience with child stardom was vastly different from her co-star Jennette McCurdy’s. As it turns out, this disparity had a lot to do with Cosgrove’s parents.
“I feel like my mom helped me a lot because she was always with me – and my dad – just my parents always being there,” she said. “So I think all of that helped keep me grounded. I just felt lucky that I have them.”
1 How Does Miranda Cosgrove Feel About Reprising Her iCarly Role As An Adult?
Miranda Cosgrove recently reprised her role as Carly Shay in Paramount’s iCarly reboot. The star was thrilled to reconnect with the iconic character once again.
“I’ve always felt really connected to the character and out of the many characters I’ve played Carly is the most like me in real life,” she shared. “It’s been really fun getting to see what it’s like getting to play the character again.”
