Miranda Cosgrove on Friendship with ‘iCarly’ Costar Jennette McCurdy (Exclusive)

Miranda Cosgrove and Jennette McCurdy became teen idols thanks to iCarly. Things have changed, and years have passed, but Cosgrove tells PEOPLE their friendship remains strong. 

“We had each other,” the Wrong Paris star, now 32, says of her costars McCurdy and Nathan Kress, who all played best friends on the Nickelodeon television series.

“I’ll always love them, and they’ll always be family to me, because we grew up together for so many years,” she adds.

Cosgrove starred as internet personality Carly Shay on the hit sitcom from 2007 to 2012, landing the part when she was 14 years old. McCurdy and Kress played Carly’s pals Sam and Freddie, respectively. 

Navigating the pressures of “people all of a sudden knowing who we were,” Cosgrove recalls, “was just so much at once.”

Recalling a specific instance when she felt “bummed” about having to switch to homeschooling, Cosgrove says a positive was that she, McCurdy, 33, and Kress, 32, “did it together.”

“So I do feel really lucky that I had them,” the actress tells PEOPLE.

When Paramount+ revived iCarly for a three-season run starting in 2021, McCurdy elected not to join the returning Cosgrove, Kress and Jerry Trainor.

The actress-musician stepped back from acting before releasing her 2022 memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died, in which she detailed the pressures of child stardom and alleged abuse from her mother. 

Reflecting on her own path in the spotlight, Cosgrove — who also began acting at a young age — says she is wary of parents’ roles in child actors’ careers.

“It’s like an adult job in an adult world, and a kid’s in it. That makes it really strange,” she says. “So many kids end up acting since their parents wanted them to do it, and I think that’s where it gets really messy and complicated because then it’s way more about the parent than it is the child.”

With her parents’ encouragement, the School of Rock star returned to the typical school experience she craved by studying psychology at the University of Southern California.

“I was trying to find something else that I was really interested in or passionate about,” recalls Cosgrove. “And I feel like I never really found that. But I’m still really happy I did it, because I think I would’ve always wondered if there was something else.”

As for McCurdy, Cosgrove says her former costar “has found that thing in writing.”

“And I feel like that’s amazing, because her path led her to the thing that she loves. So I’m really happy for her,” she adds.

Now that they’re adults, Cosgrove says her friendship with McCurdy is different. Compared to hanging out “all the time” as teens, she tells PEOPLE, “I don’t really see her as much now.”

But, she adds, “I always know she’s out there, and that if I really needed her I could call her, and I hope she knows the same. … I’m always going to be cheering for her.”

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McCurdy recently announced her debut novel, Half His Age, which is expected to be released in early 2026. In July, Apple TV+ announced a series adaptation of I’m Glad My Mom Died, produced by and starring Jennifer Aniston.

Cosgrove stars in and executive produces rom-com The Wrong Paris, premiering on Netflix on Sept. 12.