Los Angeles-born actress and singer Miranda Cosgrove has been a part of our pop culture landscape for more than two decades. She made her big-screen debut in 2003’s “School of Rock” (filmed when she was 9), followed by a string of sitcom roles (first from 2004 to 2007 on “Drake & Josh” and then from 2007 to 2012 as the star of “iCarly,” a role she reprised for its 2021 to 2023 revival) before returning to film roles in which she’s been seen (or, in the case of the “Despicable Me” animated film franchise, heard) ever since. (She most recently reprised her role as Margo in “Despicable Me 4,” which hit theaters July 3.)
Throughout that time—and the decade leading up to it—one place has been a constant in her life. “When I was little, I filmed ‘School of Rock’ in New York for five months,” she recently told The Times. “I don’t really know if I would count as living there. I think maybe the longest I’ve been in a different place was a year and a half. And I recently went to Thailand for a couple of months. But as far as living Somewhere, I've only lived in Los Angeles”
On Sunday Funday, Angelenos share step-by-step instructions on what their ideal Sunday in the city would look like. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat, and how to enjoy life on the weekends.
Which means that when Cosgrove tosses out suggestions for an ideal Sunday itinerary (as she did on a Zoom call from the Los Angeles home she shares with three dogs (a pug named Maude, a shih-poo named Penelope and a terrier mix named Diego) and three cats (Mom and her foster pets Ethel and Lucy)), you can take it all for granted.
Before we delve into her perfect day (which includes lots of food, felines and family), I asked which of the many characters she's played could make for an enviable Sunday lineup.
“Probably Margo from Despicable Me,” he replied almost immediately. “Because she’s very smart, she’s very sarcastic, and she’s not afraid to stand up for herself. And I think you have to have that quality to navigate around L.A. And she has a personality where she can do exactly what she wants and not give a damn. So I think she would come up with some fun stuff, probably a lot crazier stuff than I could.”
As far as creating fun stuff goes, Cosgrove didn't disappoint, as you'll read here. (Grilled branzino in a pizza box, anyone?)
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for brevity and clarity.
11:30 am: Start your day with a kale and coconut smoothie.
I love sleeping in. I'm a big night owl and I stay up until 2am watching TV shows and movies. So I'd probably get up around 11:30 and have a kale and coconut smoothie in the morning. Natural well in Silver Lake. It's the date coconut smoothie that I add kale to. It's really good. I would start with something light because I like to finish strong and then have a lot of lunch and dinner. … I'm a huge foodie, so I'm always looking for good places to eat. It's probably where I get the most joy in my life.
Midday: Enjoy a Frankenstein moment on Face Place
Lately I've been going to a place called the Place of the face In West Hollywood, they do facials. And it's actually really nice. I've never really liked facials, but I've really liked this one. And it only lasts 45 minutes. They put some kind of crazy thing, almost like a helmet, on your face that makes you look like some kind of Frankenstein experiment, but it only lasts about 15 minutes. And for some reason, I find it really relaxing.
1:30 p.m.: Take a cheesy road trip
This doesn't make much sense because it's so far away, but I could go to Long Beach to eat the best pizza of my life at a place called Cheezy Speaks and then I would take it to my parents who live in Downey. On Sunday, there probably wouldn't be much traffic, so I would get a pizza. What I love about it is that they put little dollops of cheese on their pizzas that are almost like frosting, so you can't go wrong with any of them. And they have a really good Caesar salad that they put a whole soft-boiled egg on.
3:00 PM: Relax with nature or some furry host animals.
Sometimes when I'm in the Long Beach area I'll go… El Dorado Nature CenterI haven't done it much lately, but I used to do it a lot. And it's really nice. You pay $6 to park and then you walk. [Parking is $8 on weekends.] They have sort of man-made lakes and there are tons of squirrels and cranes and stuff like that. And it's pretty shaded, so even if it's a really hot day, you're not directly in the sun. It's three or four miles, but it's flat, so it's more like a walk than a hike.
My other option would be to go to the CatCafe Lounge in Westwood. It's a cat cafe where people can come and have a cup of coffee and hang out with the cats, and a lot of times, they end up adopting them. I foster cats, and I'm actually fostering two tabby sisters right now, Lucy and Ethel, and the CatCafe Lounge has fostered probably 12 of the cats I've fostered and adopted them. I always write really long bios for them in hopes that people will read them when they come and quickly adopt them. I work with a place called Kitten Rescue in Los Angeles which is based in Atwater Village. They rescue them and the ones I have raised always go to the CatCafe Lounge.
6:30 pm: Solve a delicious gastronomic dilemma
Depending on how long I was at the cat cafe, I would probably go out to dinner. I'm always torn because Union In Pasadena it's always an option that I love, but a place I go to at least once a week, which is probably my favorite restaurant, is Beast In downtown Los Angeles, Union's menu is always changing, but I would go with a pasta. You can't go wrong with the spaghetti and meatballs. They also have bucatini which is really good. And they have really good fresh homemade bread with homemade butter and sea salt.
I order a lot of different things at Bestia, but right now they have a soppressata and honey pizza that is delicious. And they have a delicious grilled branzino that, if you order it to go, they serve it in a pizza box. And then there are the chestnut and mushroom agnolotti. Those are the main dishes that I always order.
9:30 pm: Take 10,000 steps with your traveling parents
I have some walking buddies near my parents’ house, and my mom is obsessed with getting 10,000 steps a day—she’s done it for about 520 days straight now. So sometimes I’ll go meet my mom and walk the dogs. And we walk with our neighborhood friends. We walk for an hour or so because it takes a while to get to 10,000 steps. We actually walk a little late, but my parents only live 15 minutes from Bestia.
23 hours: Falling asleep watching cooking or crime shows
After that, I would stay at my parents' house or go home and watch really good TV shows or movies because that's how I like to end the night. Right now I'm watching [Hulu’s true-crime drama miniseries] “Under the Bridge” with Lily Gladstone. I love watching cooking shows to help me fall asleep. I’ve also seen every episode of “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
I don't know why I find it reassuring, but I've been doing it for so long that it's strangely comforting. I've never watched the other Law & Order shows. [shows]I'm sure they're good, but I love Mariska Hargitay. And I love the whole Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler getting together thing. That's right up my alley.
