A journey from being a child star to an acclaimed author is undoubtedly exciting and full of road bumps.
Jennette McCurdy’s rise to fame can be credited to her role on iCarly, the famous Nickelodeon show. However, the show isn’t why she’s still relevant today.
It’s also not the source of her hefty fortune.
So, how did Jennette McCurdy become rich, though she retired from acting at a young age?
Here, we’ll unveil Jennette McCurdy’s net worth, career, and bumpy relationship with her mother.
A Brief Overview of Jennette McCurdy’s Life
Jennette McCurdy was born on the 26th of June, 1992. Though her early life isn’t open to the public, she was born in Long Beach. California. She spent her childhood in Garden Grove with her three older brothers and parents.
Jennette’s acting career started when she was 8, having appeared on Zoey 101 and Malcolm in the Middle as a guest.
Acting Career
McCurdy’s true breakthrough came when she joined the cast of iCarly in 2007. Only 15 years old by then, Jennette’s portrayal of Sam Puckett made her a fan favorite. Her character was challenging and sharp-tongued, which the viewers loved.
Though the show ended in 2012, McCurdy continued to star in the spin-off show Sam and Cat, released in 2013 and only consisted of one season.
In 2021, a reboot of iCarly premiered on Paramount+. Unfortunately, McCurdy wasn’t a part of it because she had already retired from acting.
That may not be the only reason, though.
Bad Work Environment
In a conversation with Karan Brar, another child actor, McCurdy talked about iCarly’s producer, Dan Schneider. She said the work environment he created was challenging to keep up with, and it severely affected her mental health.
According to the child actor, Schnieder’s behavior was abusive towards the young female actresses, and he had weird obsessions that may be considered inappropriate.
Those reasons made it difficult for McCurdy to consider returning to set, and since she was already retired, it wasn’t hard to decide.
The Second Half of Jennette McCurdy’s Career
Jennette McCurdy spent her childhood and teen years as an actress but decided to retire in 2017. Having been only 25 years, it was inevitable that she’d go into a different career path.
Unexpectedly, McCurdy shifted her focus from acting to writing and directing.
At first, she created a dark comedy series called What’s Next for Sarah. The show only lasted for one season and reportedly reflected her thoughts on the entertainment industry.
After that, she ventured into writing. In 2022, McCurdy released her first official writing project: a memoir about her bumpy relationship with her mother.
The memoir’s jarring title—I’m Glad My Mom Died—is one of the reasons it became a bestseller. It explores McCurdy’s constant conflicts with her mother, who controlled many aspects of her life and pushed her into acting.
The memoir also discusses McCurdy’s struggles with mental health, which resulted in an eating disorder at some point.
Jennette McCurdy Net Worth: How Is She a Millionaire?
i’m thrilled to share that I’m Glad My Mom Died is one of the @amazonbooks editors’ Best Biographies & Memoirs of August – and it’s on a billboard in NYC ! wahoo pic.twitter.com/1xMKs1xpMd
— Jennette McCurdy (@jennettemccurdy) August 9, 2022
Jennette McCurdy boasts a hefty net worth of $3.5 million, and only a portion was from her salary as an actress.
Many people are curious about the source of her wealth since she doesn’t act anymore. According to McCurdy, she used to get paid per episode and sometimes got a bonus when the show was renewed for a new season. However, despite being a common misconception, the child actor didn’t make money from residuals as many actors do on network television.
Jennette didn’t get the money from her acting; she got it from her book sales. She reportedly signed a seven-figure deal for two books in 2022, but there’s no further information about them, and at the time of writing, they haven’t been released.
McCurdy’s only published book, though, is a bestseller.
Being a memoir about her relationship with her mother, the book is constantly selling, so she’s probably making a lot of money from royalties.
Aside from acting and books, McCurdy has a podcast called Hard Feelings and is a part of Lemonade Media, the podcast network. She might be making money from ads through her podcast.
Did Jennette McCurdy Hate Acting?
Despite spending much of her life in the entertainment industry, Jennette McCurdy isn’t a big fan of her work. In an interview, she revealed that she doesn’t like looking back on her acting work and believes the content is embarrassing.
The actress is grateful for her acting career and financial stability, but she wishes she’d never done it.
When you dive deep into McCurdy’s relationship with her mother, you’ll understand that she was never interested in acting in the first place. She mentioned once that her mother made her go on auditions when she was 6, and she felt overwhelmed by the job.
Though that doesn’t necessarily mean she hates acting, it sure means she’d have likely gone for another choice had she had the chance.
