iCarly star on spaghetti tacos, first kiss

By JOHN BECK

Some people know Miranda Cosgrove as the lead character on Nickelodeon’s hit show “iCarly,” who eats spaghetti tacos and travels the world with her webcast entourage.

Others know her as the cute little girl in “School of Rock” who tells Jack Black, “You’re the worst teacher I’ve ever had!”

Or maybe they know her as the bubbly kid-pop singer who goes out on tours with names like the “Dancing Crazy Tour.”

At 19, the hugely successful teen phenom, who pulled down more than $180,000 per episode for “iCarly,” is enrolling at the University of Southern California this fall. Last month, she won the Inspire Award at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards for her focus on education and charity work.

Before she stops by the Sonoma County Fair next Thursday on her summer tour, she took a break to chat about “iCarly,” her first kiss and spaghetti tacos.

Q: Congrats on the Teen Choice Award. I noticed the surfboard trophy was actually taller than you.
A: I know — it was huge! It’s funny because the one they give you at the awards is really lightweight but the real one they send you is a real surfboard. I kind of want to go surfing with it because I’ve never been before.

Q: So how does it feel to wrap your final season of “iCarly”?
A: It was definitely very sad. It was kind of like graduating high school. We all cried a lot the last week. It’s funny because we all agreed we weren’t going to cry until the last day and then I couldn’t get out of the car the last week without starting to cry.

Q: What are some of your all-time favorite moments?
A: Although I didn’t really like them when they were happening, I like all the kissing scenes. I had my first kiss in real life on the show.

Q: How do you prepare for that?
A: I don’t think you really can prepare for that. I was really embarrassed because I’ve known the crew ever since I was really little. It was embarrassing having all these people I’ve known forever, like aunts and uncles — all watching me kiss. But looking back now, I kind of find it funny and I’m glad that I’ll have that forever.