Jennette McCurdy’s Candid Quotes About Her Time at Nickelodeon

Jennette McCurdy has gotten honest about being a child star on Nickelodeon — and the experience wasn’t always positive.

Over the years, the California native has appeared on her fair share of shows at the network. She rose to stardom playing Sam Puckett on iCarly from 2007 to 2012. After the show ended, McCurdy continued to explore Sam’s story in the spinoff series Sam & Cat. The series focused on a crossover between Sam and Victorious’s Cat Valentine, who was played by Ariana Grande.

During her time at Nickelodeon, the former actress also made small appearances in Zoey 101, True Jackson, VP, Fred: The Movie, Big Time Rush and Victorious.

In 2014, Sam & Cat was put on a production hiatus in April 2014 amid rumors of conflict between McCurdy and the network. Nickelodeon later confirmed that the show would not be returning for a second season. McCurdy, for her part, moved on to play the leading role of Wiley Day in the short-lived Netflix series Between. After its cancelation, McCurdy announced that she had no plans to continue acting.

Since her departure from the industry, McCurdy has discussed how her tumultuous relationship with her mother, Debra McCurdy, influenced her acting career. Following her mom’s death in 2013, Jennette chose to move on from acting to explore other opportunities.

In August 2022, Jennette detailed her difficult past as an actress in her memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died. “My whole childhood and adolescence were very exploited,” she told The New York Times at the time. “It still gives my nervous system a reaction to say it. There were cases where people had the best intentions and maybe didn’t know what they were doing. And also cases where they did — they knew exactly what they were doing.”

Scroll down for Jennette’s most candid comments about her Nickelodeon journey: