| Jennette McCurdy | |
|---|---|
McCurdy in February 2012
|
|
| Born | June 26, 1992 Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Labels | |
| Website | www |
Contents
Early life
Jennette McCurdy[3] was born on June 26, 1992 in Long Beach, California, and grew up in Garden Grove, California.[4] She has three older brothers named Marcus, Scott, and Dustin. She is of Dutch, English, French, Irish, Italian, and Swedish descent.[3][5] McCurdy reportedly became interested in acting upon watching Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope after her mother recovered from breast cancer.[6] However, in a 2014 appearance on the podcast You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, she said that this was not entirely true.[7]Career
2000–2006: Career beginning
McCurdy started her acting career in 2000 at the age of eight on MADtv.[8] 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
McCurdy at the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards
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.[9] On May 19 her cover of the Amanda Stott song "Homeless Heart" was released.[10][11] 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.[12] She met Waters through St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In mid-2009, McCurdy signed with country music label Capitol Records Nashville.[13] 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.[14] "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
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.[24] The network placed Sam & Cat into hiatus. The network initially stated that the hiatus was planned and that the series was not cancelled.[25] On July 13, 2014, Nickelodeon announced that, after only one season, Sam & Cat was cancelled.[26][27][28] In an interview on Entertainment Pop, McCurdy mentioned that she later made up with Grande.[28][29]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.[30][31][32][33]
In 2015, she began starring in the Netflix drama series Between.[34] It was also announced that she would star in teen comedy Little Bitches alongside Virginia Gardner and Kiersey Clemons.[35]
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.[36] She also starred as Claire in the psychological thriller film Pet.[37]
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[38] to body shaming and the corporate culture of smoke and mirrors.[39] She is a columnist for Seventeen magazine.[40][41] She has also written for The Huffington Post.[42]Personal life
In 2013, McCurdy moved to Studio City, California.[43]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 such a situation.[44] On September 20, 2013, her mother died after battling cancer for 17 years.[45]
Filmography
| 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 | |
| 2010 | Fred: The Movie | Bertha | |
| 2011 | The Death and Return of Superman | Eradicator Folks | Short film |
| 2013 | Snowflake, the White Gorilla | Petunia | Voice |
| 2014 | Almost Heroes 3D | Sue | Voice[46] |
| 2016 | Pet | Claire | |
| TBD | Little Bitches | Annie |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Mad TV | Cassidy Gifford | Episode 6.1 |
| 2002 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Jackie Trent | Episode: "Cats in the Cradle" |
| 2003, 2005 | Malcolm in the Middle | Daisy / Penelope | Episodes: "If Boys Were Girls" and "Buseys Take a Hostage" |
| 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" |
| 2005 | Judging Amy | Amber Reid | Episode: "My Name is Amy Gray" |
| 2005 | The Inside | Madison St. Clair | Episode: "Everything Nice" |
| 2005 | Over There | Lynne | Episode: "Situation Normal" |
| 2005 | Zoey 101 | Trisha Kirby | Episode: "Bad Girl" |
| 2006 | Will & Grace | Lisa | Episode: "Von Trapped" |
| 2006 | Close to Home | Stacy Johnson | Episode: "Escape" |
| 2006 | Against Type | Meredith | Television film |
| 2007 | The Last Day of Summer | Dory Sorenson | Television film |
| 2007 | Lincoln Heights | Beckie | Guest role; 3 episodes |
| 2007–2012 | iCarly | Sam Puckett / Melanie Puckett | Main role; 108 episodes, Episode: iTwins |
| 2009 | Fred: The Movie | Bertha | Television film |
| 2009, 2010 | True Jackson, VP | Pinky Turzo | Guest role; 2 |
| 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) | Guest role; 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Cupcake Wars | Herself / Guest judge | Episode: "Jennette McCurdy Country Cupcakes" (3.13) |
| 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 | "iParty with Victorious" "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 |
| 2013–2014 | Sam & Cat | Sam Puckett / Melanie Puckett | Main role; 35 episodes, Episode: #twinfection |
| 2014 | What's Next for Sarah? | Sarah Bronson | Web series; lead role; also writer, creator, and executive producer[32] |
| 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" |
| 2015–2016 | Between | Wiley Day | Lead role[47][48] |
| 2016 | Robot Chicken | Skipper (voice) | Episode: "Joel Hurwitz" |
| 2016 | The Eric Andre Show | Herself | Episode: "Jack Black / Jennette McCurdy" |
| 2017 | 8 Bodies | TJ | Web short; lead role; also writer, director and executive producer[49] |
| 2017 | Wine and Cheese | Jen | Web short; lead role; writer, director and executive producer |
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Jennette McCurdy |
|
Extended plays
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [51] |
US Heat. [52] |
|||||||||||||
| Not That Far Away |
|
32 | 3 | |||||||||||
| Jennette McCurdy |
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions |
Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country [53] |
US Country Airplay [54] |
|||||||||||||
| "So Close"[55] | 2009 | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||
| "Homeless Heart"[56] | — | — | ||||||||||||
| "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
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| "Not That Far Away" | 2010 | Roman White[57][58] |
| "Generation Love" | 2011 |
Awards and nominations
References
...watching the original 'Star Wars' movies, episodes 4, 5 and 6. We'd watch them over and over every day... [McCurdy's mother] recovered and everything and a couple of years after, (one of the films) came out on the big screen. It was a huge deal for our family since it helped us get through a lot of tough times. We went to go see it as a family, and it touched me so much that I turned to my mom and said, 'Mommy, I want to be in the movies, like Han Solo.'
- Ng, Philiana. "Favorite TV Actress". Nickelodeon.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jennette McCurdy. |
- Official website
- Jennette McCurdy on IMDb
- Jennette McCurdy at AllMusic
- Jennette McCurdy discography at Discogs
- Jennette McCurdy at AllMovie
- Jennette McCurdy at the TCM Movie Database
- "Jennette McCurdy". TV Tropes.
