Jenette McCurdy

June 26, 1992 (age 28)

 Occupation
* singer-songwriter
* YouTuber
* producer
 Years active
 Instruments
* guitar
* keyboard
 Labels
 Associated acts
 Website

**Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy** (born June 26, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, YouTuber, producer, and writer. She is best known for playing Sam Puckett in the Nickelodeon sitcom *iCarly* (2007–2012) and its spin-off series *Sam & Cat* (2013–2014).

McCurdy has also appeared in a number of television series, including *Victorious*, *Zoey 101*, *True Jackson, VP*, *Malcolm in the Middle*, and *Lincoln Heights*, and has also produced, written, and starred in her own online series titled *What's Next for Sarah?* From May 2015 to August 2016, she starred in the Netflix/Citytv drama series *Between* as Wiley Day.

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

## Contents

* 1Early life
* 2Career
	+ 2.12000–2006: Career beginnings
	+ 2.22007–2012: *iCarly* and music
	+ 2.32013–2015: *Sam and Cat*
	+ 2.42016–present: Current work
* 3Writing
* 4Personal life
* 5Filmography
	+ 5.1Film
	+ 5.2Television
	+ 5.3Video games
	+ 5.4Web
	+ 5.5Director
* 6Discography
	+ 6.1Studio albums
	+ 6.2Extended plays
	+ 6.3Singles
	+ 6.4Other appearances
	+ 6.5Music videos
* 7Awards and nominations
* 8References
* 9External links

## Early life[edit]

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

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

## Career[edit]

### 2000–2006: Career beginnings[edit]

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[edit]

McCurdy at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards
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 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 at Australian Kids' Choice Awards 2011
She released an EP on August 17, 2010, which included "Not That Far Away" and three new songs: "Stronger", "Put Your Arms Around Someone", and "Break Your Heart". The iTunesversion included "Me with You" as a bonus track. McCurdy's second single, "Generation Love", was released as a digital download on March 22, 2011, followed by its release to radio April 25, 2011. Capitol Nashville released McCurdy's self-named seven-track EP on February 8, 2012 at clothing retailer Justice. The full-length, ten-track edition was released to iTunes on June 5, 2012, and is her first full-length album. On July 11, 2012, *Fanlala* released an interview with McCurdy in which she confirmed that she has since left Capitol Records 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*[edit]

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 problems 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: Current work[edit]

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*.

Since 2016, *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 resume. She eventually decided to quit acting and to pursue writing and directing in 2017:

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 starred in her one-woman tragicomedy show "I'm Glad My Mom Died" in various theaters in Los Angeles and New York. She had to set her show into hiatus after the coronavirus pandemic reached United States territory. 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*.

## Writing[edit]

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*.

## Personal life[edit]

Though she was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, McCurdy left the religion in her early adulthood, citing fundamental disagreements 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 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 a friend'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 featuring YouTube creator Hyram Yarbro, McCurdy briefly mentioned that she struggled with obsessive-compulsive disorder as a child.

## Filmography[edit]

### Web[edit]

 2015
 2016

### Director[edit]

 2018
 2019

## Discography[edit]

### Studio albums[edit]

List of studio albums
* Formats: CD, digital download
* Label: Capitol Nashville

### Extended plays[edit]

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and certifications
* Formats: Digital download
* Label: Capitol Nashville
 *Jennette McCurdy* | * Release date: February 8, 2012
* Formats: Digital download
* Label: Capitol Nashville
 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

### Singles[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions
positions
 "Homeless Heart"
 "Not That Far Away"

### Music videos[edit]

List of music videos, showing year released and director