Jennette McCurdy,28, played the beloved Sam Puckett in the hit series, iCarly; however, she will reportedly not be returning for the reboot being made by Paramount+ and has effectively terminated her acting career. According to CNN, “she never really wanted to be in the business” but “[her] mom put [her] in it when [she] was 6”. She mentions how she forced herself to stick with acting only because she was financially supporting her family. 

According to the New York Post, she said, “always, always, always, acting was difficult”. She also relays to the New York Post “one of her most painful memories of acting was when she was passed over for a part in the 2005 film ‘Because of Winn Dixie’…because…she was too ‘homely’. According to Deadline, she claims “[she resents] her career…[she feels] so unfulfilled by the roles that [she] played and felt like it was…cheesy, embarrassing”. 

Additionally, many fans of the show may have noticed a change in McCurdy’s appearance; she says that her role as Sam Puckett for so many years led to an eating disorder. She felt uncomfortable in her own skin because her character was based off of a girl who loved to eat a lot. According to the New York Post, she “struggled with anorexia and bulimia…at just 11 years old”. 

 However, when her mother passed away she no longer felt an obligation to continue her acting career and quit to try her hand at directing and screenwriting. Her last acting performance was a one-woman show she wrote herself titled “I’m Glad my Mom Died” in February of 2020.  She said the reason for writing it was “Because of feeling that [she didn’t] want to f—king act anymore” according to the New York Post.