Miranda Cosgrove first found fame at 10 years old with her film debut as Summer Hathaway
in 2003's School of Rock.
The following year, she scored her iconic role as scheming younger sister Megan Parker
on Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh, before landing a starring role on the network's iCarly in
2007.
After branching out into the music biz with her 2010 hit "Kissin' U," the actress-turned-singer
successfully returned to film, voicing Margo in Despicable Me.
As she said goodbye to her alter-ego, Carly Shay, in 2012, Cosgrove was on top of the
world.
She even went on to advocate for marine-life conservation with the Oceana organization,
even taking it all the way to Capitol Hill.
So, why has she been so quiet lately?
Here's why Hollywood stopped casting Miranda Cosgrove.
Some musical missteps
While she enjoyed a few minor hits, Cosgrove's music career failed to reach the same explosive
level of Disney Channel counterparts Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez.
Her most successful singles were undoubtedly 2009's "About You Now", which reached number
47 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Kissin' U," which peaked at number 54.
Her 2010 freshman album, Sparks Fly, debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200, but Cosgrove's
last single, "Dancing Crazy," barely cracked the Hot 100 in 2011 before falling off the
chart.
A tragic incident
The slow-burn momentum of Cosgrove's music career was dramatically cut short following
an August 2011 tour bus crash that ended her Dancing Crazy Summer Tour in North America.
"Miranda Cosgrove of Nickelodeon's iCarly fame, was injured on her summer tour bus during
an accident early Thursday morning."
According to a statement released by her publicist, the then 18-year-old Cosgrove broke her ankle
when the bus she was riding in, hit a parked semi truck.
Following her doctor's orders, Billboard reported the singer was then forced to cancel her 25
remaining tour dates.
Two years after the accident, Cosgrove and her mother sued her former tour bus driver,
the semi truck driver, and both transportation companies for unspecified damages resulting
from the accident.
According to TMZ, Cosgrove alleged the accident had left both she and her mother,
"… disfigured and disabled [and they] lost their normal lives."
TMZ reported that Cosgrove claimed as much as $2.5 million in lost ticket sales and promotions,
as well as suffering from a, quote, "virtual career collapse."
Hitting the books
After iCarly wrapped in 2012, Cosgrove took a break from Hollywood to study film at the
University of Southern California.
"I really like all the classes and just the whole thing, cuz I did homeschooling since
5th grade, so it's pretty different for me"
The actress later told Bustle,
"It was always important to me.
I still wanted to be able to go to college.
[…] I'm slowly trudging along until I finish."
In 2017, Cosgrove shed a bit more light on her pivot away from Hollywood when she admitted
on LIVE with Kelly and Ryan that she had switched majors.
"I understand you're studying film at USC."
"I was studying film, and now I switched to psychology."
Of course that doesn't mean that Cosgrove is giving up the entertainment biz entirely,
but it clearly indicates that she has interests outside the industry.
Post-Nickelodeon flops
The transition from child star to grown-up actress has not been easy for Cosgrove, as
her post-Nick projects continue to flop.
NBC's 2013 pilot for Girlfriend in a Coma never got picked up after lead Christina Ricci
exited the project following a table read.
Then, 2017's single-camera workplace comedy Spaced Out was cut by NBC during its final
round of picks.
Finally, in 2015, Cosgrove scored a TV gig that was actually picked up to series: NBC's
Crowded.
"Hello all!"
"Forgive the surprise."
"Shay what are you doing here?"
"I'm moving back home."
"What?"
"But I told you I was coming here today to move back home."
"What?"
But unfortunately, the series' formulaic and dated content attracted poor reviews and low
ratings, and the freshman sitcom was canceled after just one season.
Meanwhile, on the big screen, Despicable Me has turned into a successful franchise, but
Cosgrove's other film efforts haven't fared nearly as well.
"Is it weird doing animation like sitting in a booth all day and not really acting with
other people…"
"It's a little weird.
You can wear pajamas if you want to.
Pretty much every time I go in I wear sweats."
The 2015 horror flick The Intruders went straight to DVD and earned just 21 percent on Rotten
Tomatoes.
Georgia Straight film critic Steve Newton noted,
"Unfortunately, the iCarly star's photogenic qualities far outweigh her acting chops here."
"Well, I should probably..."
"Absolutely.
Rosey-Rose...sorry again for the intrusion"
Turning it around
While the Despicable Me franchise is a nice safety net for Cosgrove to fall back on, she
doesn't seem to be moving out of her acting comfort zone just yet.
According to IMDb, Cosgrove has just one project slated for 2018, a network sitcom called History
of Them, where she'll play the show's narrator.
That sounds to us like it's either another "safe bet" sitcom attempt, or maybe just something
that won't cut into her study time, but still keeps her in the game.
"If you weren't an actor or musician, what would you be?"
"I love to draw.
Maybe I'd try to be an artist."
While Cosgrove seems to be in a holding pattern career-wise, we're confident that when she's
ready, she'll be able to re-capture the energy of her earlier, multi-faceted attempts at
showbiz.