Jennette McCurdy, an actress best known for her starring role as Sam Puckett in the hit TV shows iCarly and Sam & Cat, shocked the internet just a few days ago when she revealed in her podcast that she has officially quit acting. Although this may come as a surprise to the many fans of her earlier work on Nickelodeon, this declaration for McCurdy seems to be a long time coming.
The buzz surrounding her statement is timely considering Paramount Plus’s recent announcement on a revival series of iCarly starring Nathan Kress, Jerry Trainor and Miranda Cosgrove. The original show ran from 2007-2012 and followed a group of friends surviving everyday life and broadcasting an online comedy show from their third-floor, studio apartment in Seattle. The show gained quick success, airing for six seasons and 97 episodes and broke rating records for Nickelodeon at the time. Many fans were quick to speculate about her possible appearance on the up-and-coming TV series since rumors of a revival started back in December of 2020. Despite this, McCurdy made it clear that there were multiple reasons why she would not be returning to her place in front of the camera anytime soon.
In the podcast, McCurdy explains that her acting career started when her mother put her in auditions as early as six years old. At the time, McCurdy states that she was the main financial support for her family so she had no choice but to continue for her family’s wellbeing. Also, it fueled her to develop some level of success early on in her life. However, this newfound success brought about great struggles for her both mentally and emotionally.
During her most recent podcast episode starring Anna Farris, she talks about her struggles with anxiety while auditioning and mentioned how her acting career came to an abrupt halt with the death of her mother in 2013, ending a 17-year battle with cancer. Devastated by her mother’s death, she ended her acting career and reflected on her past roles describing them as “embarrassing,” and “cheesy.” She wasn’t pleased with her resume and she “put her own emotions on the back burner” to play the outspoken and energetic characters she portrayed on TV.
At this point, she has decided to move her career in a different direction by writing and directing some work of her own as well as getting some of her articles published in the Wall Street Journal and Huffington Post. The main themes seen throughout these articles reflect on her past in the television industry as well as her struggles with alcohol addiction and bulimia.
Despite her decision to quit acting for good, there is more work of hers that she is proud of. Some examples of this include a successful podcast she runs, short films she has written, directed, and acted in as well as a one-woman show she performs in at the Lyric Hyperion Theatre and Café in Los Angeles (presently postponed due to COVID-19). For more information on where to view her films and other projects, you can visit her website.
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