I'm Glad My Mom Died: the impact of Jennette McCurdy's bestseller

A provocative title
The Story of Jennette McCurdy
In 2018 she abandoned acting
Pain and (black) humor in equal parts
The origins of Jennette McCurdy
Home-schooled in a Mormon family
The price of fame
Living her mother's dream
Abuse and manipulation
Traumatic experiences for a teenager
The notorious 'Creator'
No support from mom
Mother diagnosed with cancer
Emotional blackmail
Anorexia and bulimia
Painful memories
Debra McCurdy capitalized on her daughter's success
Debra McCurdy's death was a liberation
A negative spiral
Had to go to therapy
A large sum of money to silence her
She turned it down
Important book
A provocative title

The title is surprising and may have been part of what made the book a bestseller. We are talking about 'I'm Glad My Mom Died' (2022), the first book by Jennette McCurdy.

The Story of Jennette McCurdy

The actress-turned-writer, born in Los Angeles in 1992, wrote an autobiography that became a bestseller. It was the most requested book in New York libraries in 2023 and the Best Seller #1 in the New York Times.

Photo: Trends Editions

In 2018 she abandoned acting

The general public may know MCurdy for the Nickelodeon series iCarly' (2007-2012) and 'Sam & Cat' (2013-2014), in which she successfully starred alongside Ariana Grande. In 2018, she decided to leave the world of acting and focus on her roles as a screenwriter and director.

Pain and (black) humor in equal parts

In the book, she tells a heartbreaking story mixed with high doses of black humor. In the first person, she recounts her difficult childhood and adolescence. She also describes how the death of her mother impacted her in 2013.

The origins of Jennette McCurdy

Jennette McCurdy grew up in Garden Grove (California) in a family without many resources. They belonged to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Home-schooled in a Mormon family

Her mother, Debra McCurdy, homeschooled Jennette along with her older siblings. As she recounts later, her mom was a controlling, mentally unstable woman obsessed with her daughter's success.

The price of fame

Success came when the young Jennette McCurdy was cast in some of the most successful series. However, the price of her fame was very high.

Living her mother's dream

"I grew to resent fame," Jenette writes. "It was my mom’s wish for me, it was never the thing that I had set my sights on." Jennette simply wanted to make her mother happy, at the expense of her own happiness.

Abuse and manipulation

Jennette McCurdy's mother had always wanted to be an actress and decided to live her dream through her daughter. The girl was subjected to a relationship of abuse and manipulation that ended up affecting her psychologically long after the death of her mother.

Traumatic experiences for a teenager

Apart from her mother, there's another person in the book that many people have speculated about. She calls him 'The Creator' and recalls he used to put her in situations a girl like her was not prepared for. She even offered her alcohol...

 

The notorious 'Creator'

Many people interpreted 'The Creator' as Dan Schneider, the producer of series like 'Zoey 101', 'iCarly' and 'Sam & Cat'. A lot of stories about the producer and his inappropriate behavior around child stars have started to circulate.

 

No support from mom

As Jennette recalls in her book, her mother was aware of many of these incidents with the producer but did not do anything about them. She just told her daughter that this was the price of success.

Mother diagnosed with cancer

When Jennette was a child, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. She would be sick for two decades and emotionally blackmail her relatives using her illness.

Emotional blackmail

Jennette McCurdy's mother controlled her daughter's entire life, including her career, intimate life, her diet, her physique, her finances, her relationships... It generated situations of stress and anxiety for the young actress.

Anorexia and bulimia

Her mom had Jennette whiten her teeth and dye her eyelashes blonde. She also controlled everything the girl ate, which eventually caused her to suffer from anorexia and bulimia.

Painful memories

Another heartbreaking episode in the autobiography was the moment when some photos leaked of the actress in a swimsuit in Hawaii with her boyfriend. It caused her mother to go into a rage, calling her "little sIut" and "ugly monster."

Debra McCurdy capitalized on her daughter's success

Jennette McCurdy's mother was obsessed with continuing to perpetuate the childlike image of her daughter that generated lucrative roles in children's series.

Debra McCurdy's death was a liberation

Because of all this abuse, the death of her mother felt like a liberation to Jennette McCurdy. Debra passed away in September 2013.

A negative spiral

After the trauma of losing an abusive mother, however, Jennette entered a dark period of self-destruction plagued by toxic relationships and alcohol.

Had to go to therapy

She went to therapy, which helped her understand that everything that happened to her was the result of the abusive relationship she had had with her mother. As she recounts in the book, it was a painful but healing process.

A large sum of money to silence her

She also reveals in the book that Nickelodeon offered her a significant sum of money in exchange for her silence about any misbehavior by 'The Creator'.

She turned it down

Jennette rejected Nickelodeon's offer. That is why she was free to tell her traumatic experience in a bestselling book. As fellow actress Lena Dunham said, "Jennette McCurdy is the queen of lemonade from lemons."

Important book

McCurdy "[used] her trauma to weave a painfully funny story that also illuminates the commodification of teenage girls in America," Dunham said, adding that the book is "an important cultural document just as much as a searingly personal one."

Follow Showbizz Daily to stay informed and enjoy more content!

More for you