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| Miranda Cosgrove |
Early life
Miranda Cosgrove was born in Los Angeles, to Tom, who owns a dry cleaning business, and Chris (n�e Casey), a stay-at-home mother. 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 actress" 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 "she loved doing it" and auditioned for theater and television roles.
2001�2007: Rise to fame
Cosgrove's first television appearance was in 2001 as a 5-year old Lana Lang in the pilot of Smallville. Miranda 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 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 as trying to sing wrong 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".
Miranda 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.
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| Miranda Cosgrove |
In 2005, Miranda was awarded the role of 'Munch' in the Disney channel film Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie. In the film, Miranda 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 was a minor success 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�present: iCarly and music career
Miranda 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 Miranda 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.
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| Miranda Cosgrove |
Miranda 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 her, that she 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. She described working with producers and songwriters The Matrix and Dr. Luke as "definitely different". Miranda Cosgrove also worked with songwriters Leah Haywood and Daniel James, and 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 but he doesn't feel the same way". She added it's 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.
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| Miranda Cosgrove |
