. >> my name is samantha puckett and i'm from seattle and i love fried chicken!was angry. i felt unsupported. >> you pull back the curtain on child stardom. it is not a pretty picture. >> not as i see it, no. >> reporter: at just 15 jennette mccurdy was one of the most recognizable child stars on television, playing sam puckett in nickelodeon's hit show "icarly." >> where'd my straw go? >> here. >> reporter: to her millions of fans she was known as the funny bff. but she says behind that bubbly on-screen persona nothing about her real life was funny. >> for you what were the pitfalls of child fame? >> you're playing at an adult's game. you're in an adult's world. and you don't recognize that. you're incapable of being on that level but you're confused and you think that you are. i think it really leads to stunted personal development. >> reporter: her personal struggles eventually prompting her to abandon acting altogether. >> you say quite frankly that this was never your dream. stardom was never your dream. whose dream was it? >> my mom's. i think she wanted me