Blast from the past! Nickelodeon has been home to childhood hits for years — and kids growing up in the 2000s will never forget the network’s leading ladies.
From Amanda Bynes, Emma RobertsAnd Keke PalmerTo Jamie Lynn SpearsAnd Miranda CosgroveFrom 2000 to the mid-2010s, Nick was dominated by women. While Bynes’ comedic legacy stretched from the late ‘90s to 2002 with The Amanda Show, Palmer didn’t burst onto the teen-TV scene until 2008 with True Jackson, VP.
Cosgrove was a Nick darling when she played the bratty sister Drake & JoshAssoc. Drake BellAnd Josh Peck. A few years later, she launched her own show. iCarlyIt also brought fan-favorite Jennette McCurdyIn the spotlight.
The women, who were still children when they became famous, shared different stories, but many of them faced similar hardships as young adults while being in the public eye.
“For sure there was pressure,” Cosgrove revealed during a September 2022 episode of the “Reign With Josh Smith” podcast. “Even when you’re not on TV or acting or anything, just growing up, there’s a lot of pressure to try to figure so many things out.”
The California native, who reprised her role of Carly Shay on 2021’s Paramount+ reboot of iCarly, observed that she often ignored positive feedback.
“When I was younger, I would go through and kind of ignore all the nice comments and look for the one mean one,” she explained of her experience on social media as a young celebrity. “I would be going through for awhile and be like, ‘Oh, found it!’”
Her remarks were made one month after McCurdy, her former costar, published her debut memoir. I’m Glad My Mom DiedThe book, which described her troubled childhood and difficult times in Hollywood, is called “The Story of My Life”.
“I think seeing yourself is particularly difficult with growing up in the public eye, because you’re so public-facing and seen as one thing,” the comedian, who later starred on Nick’s Sam & CatIn the book, he wrote: “That makes the reality of you so much more unseen and invalidated and unacknowledged. But now, because I see myself, I can accept being seen by others.”
Former child star noted that it was difficult to see her. Sam & CatCostar Ariana GrandeOnce their show ended in 2014, they were a star and a global superstar.
“Every time something exciting happens to her, I feel like she robbed me of having that experience myself,” McCurdy recalled, claiming that Nickelodeon treated her differently than Grande. “And every time someone calls me a good sport, all I feel is how much I don’t want to be one.”
While the “God is a Woman” singer has yet to comment on McCurdy’s book, Cosgrove The New York TimesIn August 2022 she said that she did not know what her costar was up to when they were children. McCurdy also claimed that iCarlyCreator Dan SchneiderThis caused her trauma while filming.
“I love Miranda to pieces. I will continue to. She has such a special place in my heart,” McCurdy told Entertainment Tonight after her book hit shelves. “She helped me grow as a person and heal as a person, and I hope I did the same for her. I just love her so much.”
Scroll down to find out what your favorite Nickelodeon girls from the 2000s have been doing now:
