I’ve previously written about singer JoJo, and how her Saturn Return ended up being a prosperous time in her life. (Humble brag: she read it!)
Anyway, I wanted to examine Jennette McCurdy of Nickelodeon fame (Sam & Cat, iCarly, etc.). Her name has been buzzing around a lot lately due to the imminent release of her memoir: I'm Glad My Mom Died
TW: mentions assault
Here is Jennette's chart, Rodden rated A. Below is a listing of biographical events from her memoir matched up against what I've seen in Jennette's chart.
1) Let's address that title. McCurdy has Pluto in Scorpio in the 10th house, as the most elevated planet (closest to the midheaven). In some way, this indicates a public life, a career, and an image that is Plutonian in nature. Death is Plutonian--specifically humor around death, which McCurdy has used as a coping mechanism. There is something distinctly taboo about the paths 10H Pluto individuals take. Unfortunately, this raised up Pluto also predisposed her ascent into celebrity and status to be mired in controversy, control, and criminally abhorrent behavior. (Out on the other end, a public life that is transformational and healing for those on the receiving end of McCurdy's gifts)
2) Her Mom. McCurdy has a Moon-Pluto opposition between Taurus and Scorpio, respectively. This opposition can manifest as a mother or childhood marked by extreme control, abuse of power, and in more abject cases, sexual and physical assault. It at the very least indicates a degree of intensity always at play. With this 4H Moon-10H Pluto configuration, her mom and childhood inevitably factor heavily in her career trajectory. And such was the case--McCurdy's mom intended for her daughter to become an actor, a failed dream of her own that she forced upon her daughter and then lived vicariously through. Her mother was sexually abusive, emotionally abusive, and encouraged McCurdy to restrict calories, leading to anorexia and bulimia that began at age 11. Her mom also had anorexia, untreated. She also forced McCurdy to work very long and grueling hours and to undergo invasive physical "exams" to make sure she didn't have cancer (McCurdy's mom had breast cancer when McCurdy was 2, and subsequently died when the cancer recurred 19 years later).
The Taurus Moon opposing Pluto can present as an obsessive need to control one's body--how it looks, how it is being nurtured, how it is perceived. It can also present as anxiety around death and illness, with hypervigilent Pluto always directing the Taurus Moon (where the physical body reigns supreme) to look after the body and maintain the health/beauty of the body in excessive and dangerous ways. That this behavior wad made manifest through her mom speaks to the exalted nature of the Moon in Taurus (insistent) in the 4H. Exalted planets can become caricatures, and can represent both our tendencies and the way others show up in our lives. Especially so as oppositions tend to manifest outwardly in relationship dynamics. (Taurus caricatures: obsessed with beauty, the body, hedonism, materialistic, etc.)
McCurdy also has Mars in Taurus in the 4H--the battlefield was home (mother threw things at her and her siblings, etc.). Taurus things, like rest, food, beauty and self-care, were weaponized against McCurdy. (Note: Mars is debilitated in Taurus, which may not incline one to fight back or assert themselves. Mars in Taurus fights to maintain peace and stability, which sometimes means becoming passive)
Both Mars and Moon answer to Venus in Cancer in the 6th house, a sensitive and loving placement that can long to please and serve others to the detriment of caring for itself.
Also, McCurdy was forced into acting, among other reasons, in order to support her family monetarily. It also turns out her small fortune was mishandled (by...her mother?) (Taurus caricatures).
3) Holy T-Square. The Moon-Pluto opposition in McCurdy's chart is being square by Saturn rising in Aquarius, conjunct the degree of the ascendant forming the stressful T-square aspect, which between fixed signs is among the most difficult to deal with. Harder to deal with as both Saturn and Pluto can represent malefic energy, and because the Moon is involved--emotional well-being. Saturn's influence also looks like control, but where Pluto deploys psychological and emotional weaponry, Saturn's control comes to us in the form of real-world structures. Also, authority figures. Her mom played the role of one authority figure, who McCurdy recalled she was eager to please. But Saturn also came in the form of the patriarchal and predatory conditions at Nickelodeon, on the set of Sam & Cat. Forced to drink, called obscenities, bikini photos taken without consent. Her mom never stepped in, resigning it all to normal Hollywood dynamics.
So, she was failed by the industry and left unprotected. Also, she wasn't allowed to pursue other projects, in stark contrast to her co-star Ariana Grande. In her memoir, McCurdy's states that Nickelodeon offered her money, to the tune of 300k, to keep quiet about her experiences (Saturn square Pluto and the depths authority can sink to in order to maintain power), but she turned it down. (Yas!)
In a night chart, Saturn is her out-of-sect malefic, making it her most difficult planet. On the ascendant, the maleficence plays out through the identity and the body. Symbolically, Saturn rising represents a lack of expression or agency over one's life, and a type of life that is weathered and eroded by constant difficulty. Saturn limits. Saturn says NO. Saturn also represents that which shrinks...also: bones, teeth, and aging. So anorexia and bulimia (which rotted McCurdy's teeth) were evocative embodiment's of Saturn influence over the house of appearance and vitality. McCurdy notes that she was afraid of aging, because she thought her mother would not love her anymore (Saturn square Moon).
4) Saturn as apex. Saturn is the apex planet in this T-square, indicating that it is a point of release and mitigation out from the all-consuming intensity of the Moon-Pluto opposition. Positively, Saturn represents self-discipline, doing the work on yourself, and finding the practical and sustainable middle-ground out from the hysterics of Moon opposite Pluto. In 2013, when McCurdy's mother died, she quit acting. Around this time, transit Saturn was forming the opening square to her natal Saturn. It is also around this time (ages 21-23) that we start the process of striking out on our own (i.e. graduating college and entering the workforce). This period of time bears a semblance to the Saturn Return, with certain themes repeating (the Saturn cycle). It wasn't until McCurdy's Saturn Return (currently still in progress) that she penned this memoir, after years of therapy. (McCurdy's 8th house Jupiter can, among other things, represent the expansion and reclaimed joy that comes as a result of talk therapy).
Saturn Returns are an opportune time to look back in order to move forward. In fact, a lot of public figures end up writing memoir's during their first or second Saturn Return--coincidentally. The first Saturn Return marks a period of time where childhood (0-28/29 in Saturn speak) needs to be reckoned with. This reflection ushers in a new phase of adulthood with the clarity of a sobered and mature mind. Many endings, but also many beginnings. And most importantly, you have a huge chunk of lived experience that can contribute to wisdom and self-acceptance.
In McCurdy's case, the work she has put into reevaluating who she is out from under the influence of her mother appears to have at least partially paid off--with a popular new book on the way and a reemergence into the spotlight on her own terms. Plus, the love, support and adoration of fans and colleagues. Career-wise, she is finding success in being a TV-writer, a playwright, a podcaster, and novelist. All of this, finally, self-directed and chosen by herself, for herself.
On a more global scale, McCurdy's revelations about working at Nickelodeon, and outing a popular producer as a predatory (the internet sleuths found out who it was), will contribute to the on-going reconstruction of an exploitative industry, and lend testimony to other victimized women. Pluto in the 10H--she is a transformer.
Though, not without regret, McCurdy admitted how ashamed she is of her iCarly and Sam & Cat roles, calling them "embarrassing and cheesy". That, too, is part of the Saturn Return--owning up to past misgivings, mistakes, and regrettable actions. Hopefully intending not to make them again. (In her case, clearly had no control over it one way or another)
This Saturn Return has given McCurdy the gift of identity and dignity. To seriously work on yourself, to face the shadows in your life, in yourself, and to resolve to become stronger for them--all a testament to Saturn,. You are responsible for your life, no matter the cards dealt. And that is...freeing. Emotional and mental stability naturally arise, Saturn's influence fortifying what we strive towards. The intensity of her Moon-Pluto opposition has found solid landing ground, more able to do the transformational emotional work and (generational) healing potentialized in this configuration. The intensity now lives inside a very capable adult, and can be channeled cathartically.
Her next 30 years look bright :) And FWIW I think she is an emotional warrior badass (as Cancers are :) Very inspiring.
TDLR: Jennette McCurdy is glad her mom died, has overcome a LOT, and is kicking absolute ass at her Saturn return.