We're always curious about stars who have seemingly disappeared after a successful role in a film or television series. This includes Hannah Montana's Emily Osment, who is no longer in the mainstream or even Shameless' Steve Howey who is still very much on that show but doesn't appear to be anywhere else. The same can be said for Miranda Cosgrove, who is best known for her role as the younger sister on Drake & Josh. The show made Drake Bell and Josh Peck very rich, but it actually set Miranda up for a decent career.
However, a few years later, she vanished.
So, what happened to Miranda Cosgrove?
Her Career Started Fast And Then Fizzled Out
Miranda found fame when at the early age of 10 when she was cast in copious mainstream commercials for companies such as McDonald's. But she also made it big in film early on.
While she voiced Lana Lang in an episode of Smallville, her first role was as Summer Hathaway in Jack Black's beloved film, School of Rock. While Miranda was part of an ensemble of kids, she was easily the stand-out. At least, Nickelodeon sure thought so. Soon after she won her iconic role as Megan Parker, the very crafty, scheming little sister on Drake & Josh. She played the role from 2004 until 2007, winning the hearts of the massive viewership. And as soon as Drake & Josh ended, more doors opened up for her.
While she was making appearances in various projects, Miranda was soon awarded the leading role on her very own Nickelodeon show, iCarly. This gave her a humungous international audience and diehard fans. During this time, Miranda broke a Guinness World Record by being the highest-paid child star ever... That's right... EVER.
But once you reach the top, it's pretty hard to go any further.
Miranda Cosgrove starred as Carly Shay on iCarly until 2012, but before the series ended, she earned the voice role of Margo in the animated film series Despicable Me which kept her employed until 2017.
Like many young stars on Nickelodeon, Miranda also launched a music career. Her debut extended play was "About You Now" and her debut studio album was "Sparks Fly". Miranda's music was well-enough received. She even got Avril Lavigne to pen "Dancing Crazy" for her and the song debuted at number 40 on the US Billboard as well as just made it into the Billboard Hot 100. However, it quickly fell off the charts.
The truth is, after 2012, both Miranda's music and television career started to burn out...
Sort of...
What's Miranda Doing Now?
After a horrendous tour bus crash, Mirdana decided to study film at the University of Southern California, according to Nicki Swift.
During an interview with USA Today, Miranda said that she was acclimating to life in university and wasn't doing a whole lot of work.
"Sometimes I forget that I've been on the show because everyone is just trying to get to class and get their work done," Miranda said.
"It was always important to me. I still wanted to be able to go to college...I'm slowly trudging along until I finish."
During her time at university, her love of film seemed to dwindle a bit. She even changed her major from film to psychology.
"I actually changed my major a few times, so it's kind of funny," she told Entertainment Weekly.
Perhaps this is because most of her post-Nickelodeon projects didn't find their way.
In 2013, Miranda signed onto a pilot with Christina Ricci called Girlfriend in a Coma... But Christina backed out and the show didn't move forward. And then there was 2017's Spaced Out, created by Bill Lawrence (the father of singer Charlotte Lawrence). But the show didn't get off the ground and NBC axed it during its final round of picking their fall line-up.
Then in 2015, Miranda was cast in NBC's Crowded which was actually picked up... However, it was canceled after just one season due to poor viewership and terrible reviews. The Hollywood Reporter even called the show "pointless, stupid and unfunny." OUCH!
Luckily, Miranda had a ton of money in the bank to play with thanks to Despicable Me and her Nickelodeon days.
However, Miranda has been hosting a CBS series called Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove which was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards in 2020.
We sincerely hope Miranda continues to pursue work in film and television as well as continues her music career, which she has said she's still interested in. On top of this, Miranda has shared that she is interested in exploring screenwriting.
Miranda was a great source of entertainment for so many who watched iCarly, School of Rock, and Drake & Josh. We're sure she can be again!
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