Jennette McCurdy Biography

Jennette Michelle Faye McCurdy (born June 26, 1992) is an American actress, screenwriter, producer, singer and songwriter. She is best known for her role as Sam Puckett on the Nickelodeon sitcom iCarly and its spin-off series Sam & Cat. She 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?. Since May 2015, she has starred in the Netflix / City series Between.

Tour

Early life

McCurdy was born in Long Beach, California, and grew up in Garden Grove, California. She has three older brothers named Marcus, Scott, and Dustin. She is of Dutch, French, Irish, Italian, English and Swedish heritage. McCurdy gained interest in acting upon watching Harrison Ford in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope after her mother recovered from breast cancer.

Career

2000-06: Career beginning

McCurdy started her acting career in 2000 at the age of eight on MADtv. 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.

2007-12: 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. The second single, "Homeless Heart", was released on May 19. 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 in order 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.

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 iTunes version included "Me with You" as a bonus track. "Stronger" was later included on Now That's What I Call Music! Vol. 35, released on August 31, 2010. 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-present: Sam & Cat and Between

She 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 along with good friend and former co-star Miranda Cosgrove were 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. For months in between, rumors of a feud between Grande and McCurdy ran high, but these were later proven to be false. 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 thriller drama series Between, being produced by City Canada and Netflix. She also stars in teen comedy film Little Bitches along with Virginia Gardner and Kiersey Clemons.

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.

Writing

In 2011 McCurdy began writing articles in the Wall Street Journal. She has written a total of eight articles for the paper, on various topics ranging from Shirley Temple to body shaming and the corporate culture of smoke and mirrors. She is a columnist for Seventeen magazine. She has also written for The Huffington Post.

Personal life

McCurdy composed an article titled "Off-Camera, My Mom's Fight With Cancer", that was published in the Wall Street Journal on June 11, 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 such a situation. On September 20, 2013, her mother died after battling cancer for 17 years.

Filmography

Film roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Shadow Fury	Anna Markov
2002	My Daughter's Tears	Mary Fields
2003	Hollywood Homicide	Van Family Daughter
2003	Taylor Simmons	Amanda Simmons
2004	Breaking Dawn	Little Girl
2005	See Anthony Run	Lucy	Short film
2009	Minor Details	Mia
2011	The Death and Return of Superman	Eradicator Folks	Short film
2013	Snowflake, the White Gorilla	Petunia	Voice
2014	Almost Heroes 3D	Sue	Voice
2016	Pet	Claire	Post-production
2016	Little Bitches	Annie	Post-production

Television and web roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Mad TV	Cassidy Gifford	Episode 6.1
2002	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Jackie Trent	Episode: "Cats in the Cradle"
2004	Karen Sisco	Josie Boyle	Episode: "No One's Girl"
2004	Strong Medicine	Hailey Campos	Episode: "Selective Breeding"
2004	Tiger Cruise	Kiley Dolan	Television film
2005	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Holly Purcell	Episode: "Contagious"
2005	Medium	Sara Crewson	Episode: "Coded"
2003	Malcolm in the Middle	Daisy	Episode: "If Boys Were Girls"
2005	Judging Amy	Amber Reid	"My Name is Amy Gray" (Season 6, Episode 22)
2005	Malcolm in the Middle	Penelope	Episode: "Buseys Take a Hostage"
2005	The Inside	Madison St. Clair	"Everything Nice"
2005	Over There	Lynne	"Situation Normal"
2005	Zoey 101	Trisha Kirby	"Bad Girl"
2005	Robot Chicken	Voice	"Joel Hurwitz"
2006	Will & Grace	Lisa	"Von Trapped"
2006	Close to Home	Stacy Johnson	"Escape"
2006	Against Type	Meredith	Television film
2007	The Last Day of Summer	Dory Sorenson	Television film
2007	Lincoln Heights	Beckie	Recurring role (season 1)
2007-12	iCarly	Sam Puckett	Main role
2009	Fred: The Movie	Bertha	Television movie
2009-10	True Jackson, VP	Pinky Turzo	Episodes: "Amanda Hires a Pink", "True Drama"
2010	The Cleveland Show	Girl #1	Voice; episode: "Little Man on Campus"
2010	Glenn Martin, DDS	Mazy	Voice; episode: "Courtney's Pony"
2010; 2015	The Penguins of Madagascar	Becky	Voice; episodes: "Badger Pride", "Tunnel of Love"
2011	Cupcake Wars	Herself / Guest judge	Episode: "Jennette McCurdy Country Cupcakes" (Season 3, Episode 13)
2011	Big Time Rush	Training Fan	Episode: "Big Time Concert"
2011	Best Player	Christina "Prodigy" Saunders	Television film
2011; 2012	Victorious	Sam Puckett Ponnie / Linda / Fawn Liebowitz	Crossover: "iParty with Victorious" Episode: "Crazy Ponnie"
2012	Bucket & Skinner's Epic Adventures	Devon	Episode: "Epic Break-Up"
2012	Camp Orange	Host	Season 8
2013	Ben and Kate	Bethany	Episode: "Gone Fishin'"
2013	Swindle	Savannah Westcott	Television film
2013-14	Sam & Cat	Sam Puckett	Lead role
2014	What's Next for Sarah?	Sarah Bronson	Web series; lead role; also writer, creator, and executive producer
2014	The Birthday Boys	Kendra Taylor	Episode: "Love Date Hump"
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Allie Dawson	Episode: "Simon Helberg Wears a Sky Blue Button Down and Jeans"
2015-present	Between	Wiley Day	Lead role
2016	The Eric Andre Show	Herself	Episode: "Jack Black; Jennette McCurdy"

Discography

Studio albums

List of albums

Title	Album details
Jennette McCurdy	Release date: June 5, 2012 Formats: CD, digital download Label: Capitol Nashville

Extended plays

List of extended plays, with selected chart positions and certifications

Title	Details	Peak chart positions
		US	US
Not That Far Away	Release date: August 17, 2010 Formats: Digital download Label: Capitol Nashville	32	3
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

List of singles, with selected chart positions

Title	Year	Peak chart positions		Album
		US	US
"So Close"	2009	"?	"?	rowspan=2
"Homeless Heart"		"?	"?
"Not That Far Away"	2010	58	58	Not That Far Away
"Generation Love"	2011	44	44	Jennette McCurdy
""?" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Music videos

List of music videos, showing year released and director

Title	Year	Director
"Not That Far Away"	2010	Roman White
"Generation Love"	2011

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2005	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a Television Series - Guest Starring Young Actress	Strong Medicine	rowspan="7"
2008		Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special - Supporting Young Actress	The Last Day of Summer
		Best Performance in a TV Series - Supporting Young Actress	iCarly
2009		Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama) - Supporting Young Actress
		Outstanding Young Ensemble in a TV Series
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Sidekick
2010	Young Artist Awards	Outstanding Young Performers in a TV Series
	Australian Kids' Choice Awards	LOL Award (shared with cast)		rowspan="2"
2011	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Sidekick
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV: Female Scene Stealer		rowspan="2"
		Choice Music: Female Country Artist	Jennette McCurdy
	Australian Kids' Choice Awards	LOL Award	iCarly	rowspan="3"
	Meus Prmios Nick Brazil	Funniest Character
2012	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Sidekick
2013	Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Aussie's Fave Nick Star	Jennette McCurdy	rowspan="2"
2014	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite TV Actress	Sam & Cat