Miranda Cosgrove Miranda Taylor Cosgrove is an American actress
and singer-songwriter. Cosgrove's career began at the age of three when she appeared in television
commercials. Her film debut was in 2003, as Summer Hathaway in School of Rock. Cosgrove
appeared in a number of minor television roles over several years before coming to prominence
on the Nickelodeon TV series Drake & Josh. A few years later, Cosgrove landed the role
of Carly, the lead character in the Nickelodeon TV series iCarly. As of May 2010, Cosgrove
earned $180,000 per episode of iCarly, making her the second-highest-paid child star on
television. She was listed in the 2012 edition of Guinness World Records as the Highest Paid
Child Actress for iCarly. Following the success of iCarly, a soundtrack album was released
in June 2008, in which she performed four songs. Cosgrove's debut album Sparks Fly was
released on April 27, 2010. Cosgrove is currently attending the University
of Southern California and will be majoring in film.
Early life Cosgrove was born in Los Angeles, California,
to Tom, who owns a dry-cleaning business, and Chris (née Casey), a homemaker. She is
of English, Irish, and French descent. At the age of three, she was discovered by a
talent agent while singing and dancing at the Los Angeles restaurant Taste of L.A. Cosgrove
stated that when the agent walked up to her and her mom for modeling, she had "never really
thought of being an " and "was lucky". After choosing to take the offer, she appeared in
television commercials for McDonald's and Mello Yello, and also modeled. At the age
of seven, Cosgrove decided that " loved doing it" and auditioned for theater and television
roles. Career
2001–2007: Career beginnings, film debut, and Drake & Josh
Cosgrove's first television appearance (aside from commercials) was in 2001 as the voice
of 5-year old Lana Lang in the pilot episode of Smallville. Cosgrove then made her film
debut with the 2003 film School of Rock. In the movie, she played Summer Hathaway, a young
girl with great ambition and discipline who finds herself adjusting to the free-spirited
nature of the new teacher by becoming band manager of the classroom's rock band. School
of Rock was both a box office hit, grossing over $131,282,949 worldwide, and critical
success, receiving a 91 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Cosgrove's acting on the film was
praised, with David Ansen of Newsweek describing it as "spot on". She said of the experience
of working with Jack Black: "The first week it was like, 'Oh, my God, that's Jack Black,'
but two weeks later it was fine. He's really funny. Sometimes the director would say, 'Jack,
you can't make them laugh so much.'" She cited the scene of trying to sing badly as very
difficult. Cosgrove stated that "I got a 45-minute lesson from Jim O'Rourke of Sonic Youth on
how to sing badly. I've been taking singing lessons for about five years, so getting to
sing badly was new. The director kept saying, 'Try to sing even worse, Miranda,' so it was
weird." She is grateful she was in School of Rock, as it exposed her to classic rock
songs she was unfamiliar with. "After the movie," said Cosgrove, "I discovered Led Zeppelin
and I've taken up the electric guitar". Cosgrove soon landed her first major role
in a television series when she was awarded a main role in the Nickelodeon series Drake
& Josh, alongside Drake Bell and Josh Peck. In the series, she portrayed Megan Parker,
the mischievous younger sister of the title characters. The show made its debut on January
11, 2004 and drew positive responses in ratings. Cosgrove said of Drake & Josh, "It's like
a big family. We know each other so well, nothing is embarrassing anymore...It's really
comfortable, and it's really fun." While on the show, she was able to develop a partnership
with Dan Schneider, known for producing various Nickelodeon shows such as Zoey 101, The Amanda
Show, Kenan & Kel, and All That. Also in 2004, Cosgrove guest starred in a special episode
of the animated series What's New, Scooby-Doo?, as well as guest starring in a season five
episode of Grounded For Life, portraying the character of Jessica.
In 2005, Cosgrove was awarded the role of 'Munch' in the Disney channel film Here Comes
Peter Cottontail: The Movie. In the film, Cosgrove portrays a female mouse who is rescued
from a hawk by Junior and Flutter, and subsequently comes along for the adventure that the characters
must take. Cosgrove also guest-starred on two episodes of the animated comedy, Lilo
& Stitch: The Series. The television series, which aired on Disney, is a spin-off of the
original film, Lilo & Stitch. Cosgrove was also rewarded her second major role in a theatrical
film, when she cast alongside Drake & Josh co-star Drake Bell in the comedy film Yours,
Mine and Ours, in which she portrayed the character Joni; the film performed mildly
at the box office. Yours, Mine and Ours opened at number three, with an opening weekend of
$17,461,108 in the US. Cosgrove later starred in her third theatrical release, Keeping Up
with the Steins, which was released to generally negative reviews from critics. The film was
also a failure at the box office. She also earned a role in the straight to DVD film
The Wild Stallion. 2007–2009: iCarly and music beginnings
Cosgrove kicked off 2007 by appearing in several Nickelodeon television series. The first of
these appearances was in Zoey 101, which starred Jamie Lynn Spears and Victoria Justice. Cosgrove
later guest starred on an episode of Unfabulous, which starred Emma Roberts. In the episode,
Cosgrove guest starred as a sweet girl named Cosmina. 2007 saw the end of Drake & Josh,
with the final episode airing on September 16, 2007. However, Cosgrove was already in
the works of starring in her own series, titled iCarly, a teen sitcom starring Cosgrove, Jennette
McCurdy, and Nathan Kress, released on September 8, 2007.
Schneider tailored iCarly around the interest young people have in the internet. A unique
part of this show is the fact that viewers may submit their own videos and also be included
in the show. Cosgrove said of the audience participation aspect, "When I first heard
about the idea, I thought it was so cool. If I were home and watching TV, I'd want to
send in a video." By the summer of 2008, the show was the third highest rated in the 9–14
demographic. The "iCarly Saves TV" special extended episode, became the most-viewed entertainment
show on cable TV in June 2008. Cosgrove's debut as a recording artist began
with the iCarly theme song "Leave It All to Me". The song features her former Drake & Josh
castmate Drake Bell and is written by Michael Corcoran, one of Bell's band members. It was
released as a single in December 2007 through digital distribution and eventually peaked
at number 100 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard
Kid Albums chart. In June 2008, Columbia Records released the iCarly soundtrack, which featured
four songs performed by Cosgrove ("Leave It All to Me", "Stay My Baby", "About You Now",
and "Headphones On"). Critical reception for her performance was positive. Stephen Thomas
Erlewine of Allmusic stated that Cosgrove proved "herself to be an appealingly spunky
singer" and the "good tunes" she performed " the most of her girlish talents". However,
Erlewine noted that the "focus not on her" because of other artists, she but rather " in
the mix". The following promotional single "Stay My Baby" failed to reach the charts,
but "About You Now" reached number 47 on the Hot 100 in January 2009, becoming her most
successful single to date. Cosgrove became one of MTV's Female Pop Rookies
of 2009. In December 2008, a cover of the holiday song "Christmas Wrapping" was released
to promote the hour-long special Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh. On February 3, 2009, Cosgrove
released her first solo recording, the extended play About You Now, exclusively on the iTunes
Store. The extended play featured the title track, a remix of it, and a remix of "Stay
My Baby", as well as two new songs, "F.Y.I." and "Party Girl". To promote the 2009 animated
film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Columbia Records released a single entitled "Raining
Sunshine" with an accompanying music video in August 2009.
Since July 2008, plans for a debut album have been active. In an interview with MTV News,
Cosgrove discussed the forthcoming album. Cosgrove reported to be "co-writing and getting
really into" the album, contrasting with the iCarly soundtrack in which she "just picked
songs that meant a lot to, that really liked." She also described the album as "still pop
rock fun" in comparison to her previous work on the iCarly soundtrack, though "a little
more mature". Themes for the album are "love songs and just fun songs about hanging out
with your girlfriends". When releasing About You Now, Cosgrove further elaborated on the
album's concepts. 2010–2012: Debut album, tour, and iCarly
final seasons In 2009 Cosgrove worked with songwriters The
Matrix, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Leah Haywood, and Daniel James, for his debut studio album.
She said that "most of the songs are fun, pop, rock-girl empowerment". She noted that
"there's one ballad that's kind of sad" and that "it's called 'What Are You Waiting For?'
It's about a girl who likes a guy ". She added that it is something she's experienced in
her own life: "I definitely have guys that I'm friends with that I have a crush on, and
you don't want to ruin the friendship". The album was released in April 2010, and the
first single from her album, "Kissin' U", was premiered on Ryan Seacrest's radio show
on March 12, 2010, and released to iTunes on March 23, 2010. The album, titled Sparks
Fly, debuted and peaked at number 8 on the US Billboard 200 chart.
She signed with skin care and cosmetics company Neutrogena on February 12, 2010, as an ambassador.
On March 17, 2010, it was reported that Cosgrove had signed a deal, reportedly in the "low-
to mid-seven-figure range" to do 26 additional episodes of iCarly. Cosgrove voiced a character
in Universal Studios' 3-D computer animated feature Despicable Me, released in July 2010.
In January 2011, Cosgrove revealed that her new EP would be titled High Maintenance, and
also released the first single from the same. The song, titled "Dancing Crazy", was written
by Max Martin, Shellback, and Avril Lavigne, and produced by Martin and Shellback. With
three weeks of airplay, the song debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard Adult Pop Songs.
On January 24, 2011 she released her debut tour, Dancing Crazy Tour, visiting North America,
the trek will support her first studio album, Sparks Fly. The tour began in Missouri and
travel throughout the United States and ended in Ohio. Cosgrove continued the tour into
the summer to promote her second EP, High Maintenance. On July 15, 2011 the tour continued
with a new title, Dancing Crazy Summer Tour, traveled the United States and Canada and
performed at music festivals and state fairs. On August 11, 2011, Cosgrove broke her ankle
in a tour bus accident on Interstate 70 near Vandalia, Illinois, resulting in the postponement
of her U.S. tour dates. The remainder of the tour was cancelled as a result. In June 2013,
Cosgrove and her mother filed a lawsuit at the Illinois federal court against the driver
and transportation companies, suing for unspecified damages of $50,000 each while claiming that
the crash could have been prevented. On January 24, 2012 Cosgrove released her
second iCarly's soundtrack, iSoundtrack II, produced by Dr. Luke. On May 17, 2012, it
was announced that the show's seventh season was the last for iCarly and that a series
finale event would air in November 2012. The series finale, "iGoodbye", aired on November
23, 2012. 2013–present: Focus on acting
In 2013 she confirmed that she is recording two movies: How Could You Do This to Me?,
where she plays a girl who feels that the divorce of her parents has improved her life
and, when mom and dad appear to be rekindling sparks, she tries to break them up again.
The second, Liars (A-E), is about a woman who travels to watch the inauguration of Barack
Obama and remember the past and his loves. She also confirmed that she is working on
her second studio album. She was in the recording studio with Randy Jackson and Max Martin.
On February 15, 2013, it was announced that Cosgrove would be starring as Evie in Girlfriend
in a Coma, a television series that NBC has ordered a pilot for. Cosgrove will play the
daughter of the mother Karen, who wakes up after a nearly twenty-year-long coma and finds
out she has a daughter. Cosgrove again voiced Margo in Despicable Me 2, which was released
on July 3, 2013. Philanthropy
Cosgrove is an active supporter of Memphis, Tennessee's St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
She also visits other children's hospitals and considers Education Through Music as one
of her favorite charities. Cosgrove is also a national spokesperson for
Light the Night Walk, an organization that creates awareness for blood cancer and leukemia.
Personal life Cosgrove is an only child and was homeschooled
from grade six onwards. In October 2012, Cosgrove's female pet poodle Pearl died at age 14 due
to kidney failure; she told People Magazine that " was a part of our family and because
I was an only child, she was a really big part of my life". Cosgrove also tweeted, "My
dog, Pearl...was there on my first day of kindergarten and my first day of college.
I'll love her forever". In fall of 2012, Cosgrove started attending
the University of Southern California and has cited her aspirations of majoring in theater
or writing. Cosgrove made the decision to attend school there to be able to continue
acting and to stay near her family. In a November 2012 interview with Larry King, Cosgrove stated
that she would be majoring in film. In October 2012, Cosgrove bought a three-bedroom,
2,900-square-foot (270 m2), 1952 traditional-style house for $2.65 million, which is twenty minutes
away from where she attends college. Discography
Sparks Fly (2010) About You Now (2009)
High Maintenance (2011) Tours
Dancing Crazy Tour (2011) Miranda Cosgrove Summer Tour (2012)
Awards and nominations