Jennette McCurdy: The former teen star who was happy about the death of her mother

Every time Jennette McCurdy repeats her lines at the

studios in California

It is an exhausting reality that she will live with for several years of her life, almost daily, on the way from adolescence to young adulthood.

On the one hand, there is her profession: giving life to Sam Puckett, a rebellious and moody young woman with a huge heart, who steals much of the applause in

the series that is the golden goose of the children's channel between 2007 and 2012. The material with which he works is sometimes simple, but there is a natural charisma in it that makes everything work.

It is not a secret: many affirm that her character is more popular, even, than that of Miranda Cosgrove, the Carly on whom the plot revolves.

But there is a second performance, invisible to the rest, in his life as a young television star.

It's about convincing the world – and herself –

The others don't know it, or pretend not to know it, but

remember with anger

It's 2023 and it's been a long time since Jennette last put the body of the character that made her famous.

Now, with

she is finally able to put into words (literally) the hell she lived through as an actress.

His autobiography,

published at the end of last year,

, according to the ranking of

and will be a new editorial for March in Argentina.

Not bad for an ex-actress who feared being forever in the shadow of her TV character and who today breaks it as a writer at age 30.

In her book, Jennette reveals with brutal honesty how her family member and the entertainment industry used her. 

I'm glad my mother died

– yes, that's how straight and straight the book is called –

a genre rife with half-truths, confessions at the hands of ghostwriters and glowing retellings. .

Jennette is encouraged to do what others won't: put acting aside when it comes to telling her own story, even if it leads her to rummage through the mud of her darkest childhood memories.

but one that one cannot put down even if he wants to;

magnetic from the first to the last page.

Jennette reveals with brutal honesty how her family environment and

Her prose is simple and bearable, unpretentious, almost like listening for hours to that friend who knows how to tell her anecdotes perfectly.

“My mother did not deserve her pedestal.

despite how destructive they were for the whole family, ”Jennette confesses in one of the crudest passages in her book.

“My mother abused me emotionally, mentally and physically in ways that will affect me forever,” she adds.

Jennette's ordeal is outrageous and gives chills.

who subjects her to vaginal and breast "exams" in the bathroom against her will, who defines an acting career for her since childhood, living through her the frustrated dream that she would have always wanted to fulfill.

In short, a mixture too dangerous not to end up exploding somewhere.

Friends.

Jennette McCurdy with Miranda Crosgrive, in a scene from iCarly.

shows

at age 15, but her tumultuous history with acting dates back much earlier.

for acting that deserved to be taken advantage of.

Little Jennette, according to her mother, was called to support her family, which was Mormon and lower middle class.

At an age when most kids play, mess up, and laugh without worrying about "adult things" like work or money, Jennette had to juggle homeschooling with the arduous task of attending school

and adding miles as a secondary actress, waiting for that great role that would work as a golden ticket.

the big opportunity

When he finally entered

after nearly a decade of rowing it as an extra or occupying episodic roles in series like

and

, the promise of having reached the goal turned out to be a mirage for him. Jennette.

"The fame that I have now is causing me a level of stress that I did not think it was possible to have," he says in his book, when examining those years.

"I know everyone wants her and everyone tells me how lucky I am to have her, but I hate her."

From an early age, she learned that public exposure and affection can hide a much darker reality that looms behind her.

The diets to which her mother subjected her resulted in a severe picture of bulimia and anorexia. 

On the set of

Jennette didn't understand why they made her try on skimpy bikinis for a series that was designed for children or why they offered her to drink alcohol between recordings.

If she asked, the answer was always the same: "the creator" demanded it.

Who was “the creator”?

She does not name him, but most of the press and fans understand that he is Dan Schneider, the

of strips like

,

and the one who made Jennette famous.

The tumultuous ouster of the Nickelodeon executive in 2018 seems to confirm what was always an open secret.

In any case, the television network, found out that its former "teen" star was about to release an explosive memoir,

Sweet Home?

recordings

then continued at home.

Debra's obsession with fitting her daughter into her sick beauty ideal

and tint her eyelashes from the age of 11.

The book the former actress wrote, I'm Glad My Mother Died.

He arrives in Argentina in March.

The consequences were seen over time: the strict diet that her mother imposed on her – who assured that she would look younger and obtain more roles –

.

Jennette barely ate, and if she did, she felt guilty.

Debra's response to the professional advice of pediatricians was very simple and quick: stop taking her daughter to the doctor.

There is a cruel stereotype about child stars that constant exposure and fame at too young an age leads them to become excessive and out of control.

Jennette didn't make it out of that trap, but it's impossible to blame her considering the example she received from her home, which was supposed to be a shelter.

The demands – mistreatment – ​​of an abusive mother,

and a lack of interest on the part of the rest of her family to do something about it, led to anorexia becoming bulimia and sorrows drowning in alcohol.

At one point, Jennette reveals in her memoir,

teeth, eventually losing a tooth in an airplane bathroom while returning a lunch.

a false foundation

Jennette's mother never got to read her daughter's memoirs.

: taking her down from the pedestal was a job that her daughter had to face alone, without ever being able to have a closing conversation with the one who gave her life.

But if Debra had read the book, chances are she would have accused her of being a betrayer, that she looks fat on her cover, and that – mind you – she keeps a percentage of her earnings for him.

"The fame that I have now is causing me a level of stress that I didn't think was possible to have." 

Jennette mccurdy

For many it is impossible to even imagine, but

“If mom really didn't want what was best for me, or did what was best for me, or knew what was best for me, that means that my whole life, my point of view, and my identity have been built on a false foundation. ”, he narrates in his book.

A long process of learning and healing gradually gave him the answers he was looking for.

Along the way, she fell over and over again:

, she confesses.

She had relapses, she hated herself

and sought to return to the story that they had put together for her, but her willpower ended up being greater.

She sounds cliché, especially for a life story so far removed from the ones she had to interpret on television, but her efforts paid off: Jennette McCurdy learned to overcome her demons and turn her pain into strength. .

The publication of

is the culmination of that journey, as well as the beginning of another.

Putting pain into words gave peace to a life that was crying out for it.

"Now I have people around me who support me, who take care of me, who love me," says the author.

“I feel safe, I trust others and I can open up about my stuff.”

Jennette McCurdy has been writing columns for two newspapers for a few years.

But it

For a few years she has written columns for

and

, she has run a successful podcast

When, in 2021, her partner Miranda Cosgrove, with whom she still maintains a friendly relationship off-screen today, invited her to be part of the return of

both knew in advance the answer that Jennette would give: "There is nothing What can they do to convince me”, he answered by phone.

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