From iCarly to showcasing STEM careers: What Miranda Cosgrove is doing now

By
Lynette Rice
Lynette Rice
Lynette Rice

Editor at Large for Entertainment Weekly, host of Outlander Live! on EW Radio, and Mark Harmon enthusiast. Yes, I know the guacamole is extra.

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Published on April 11, 2020 10:00AM EDT
Miranda Cosgrove
Photo: Getty Images

For six seasons, Miranda Cosgrove played a precocious teenager whose web show became an internet phenomenon on Nickelodeon's iCarly. Now, she's the host of Mission Unstoppable, a CBS Saturday-morning show that showcases female engineers, mathematicians, and astronauts doing all sorts of world-changing stuff.

The show is executive produced by Cosgrove and actress Geena Davis, who believes the lively reports on superstars like Diana Trujillo — the head of the Mars Rover program — have already inspired young viewers in the series’ first season. “There’s a direct correlation between what happens on screen and what people do in real life,” Davis tells EW. She cites a study saying 63 percent of women pursued STEM careers because of Gillian Anderson’s forensic pathologist character, Dana Scully, on Fox's The X-Files. "That's an overwhelming impact."

Cosgrove just liked the opportunity to reach her old fans again — but this time, by inspiring them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math. "A lot of these women, I'm learning about for the first time," says the 26-year-old. "It's been really fun just like getting to be a part of something like this. And it's totally new for me."

The actress who broke out in the 2003 movie School of Rock opposite Jack Black finds it ironic that she's helping to expose young girls to new careers when she's on an exploratory path of her own. She's currently studying psychology at USC to see if there's something more she'd like to do besides act -- something she's done a lot of since the age of 3. For more than a decade, Cosgrove was a big star on Nickelodeon but she also appeared in The Good Wife and lent her voice to Despicable Me 3.

"I actually changed my major a few times, so it's kind of funny," she tells EW. "A lot of what the show is supposed to be doing is helping young girls figure out what different opportunities are out there. I went to USC 'cause I was homeschooled for most of my childhood. So I still feel like right now, even though I'm 26, I'm still kind of figuring out what other things I maybe want to do."

Mission Unstoppable With Miranda Cosgrove airs on Saturday mornings on CBS and can also be found on CBS All Access. Watch the trailer above.

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