Carly Shay

Carly Shay (born July 24, 1994) is the main protagonist of the show and is the younger sister of Spencer Shay and the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Shay. She lives with Spencer in Bushwell Plaza. She is the best friend of Sam Puckett and former best friend of Missy Robinson when she was younger. She is also the best friend and ex-girlfriend of Freddie Benson. She is portrayed by Miranda Cosgrove as a teenager, and Jadin Gould as an eight-year-old (iDon't Want to Fight).

Characteristics
Carly is a kind, caring person who would do anything for her friends, although she can be a little bit spoiled and bratty at times when she doesn't get her way, such as in iLook Alike. Occasionally, she has to get between her best friends Sam and Freddie when the two argue too much. She gets good grades and usually stays out of trouble, except for when she takes the blame for Sam's misdeeds.

She is easily grossed out by vermin, the gross videos Sam likes, or even just by Spencer saying "bowels" (iTake on Dingo). In iMake Sam Girlier, Sam tells Carly that she is "soft and girly and weak." and in iTake on Dingo Sam called her "prissy." Carly agreed with this, referring to herself as "the prissiest." It was shown in iSpace Out and confirmed in iSam's Mom that Carly suffers from claustrophobia and freaks out if she is locked in a small space for a long time.

In "iWanna Stay With Spencer," it was implied Carly used to be a sickly child, since according to Spencer, she has to take vitamins every day and suffers from allergies and asthma. She had her last asthma attack when she was seven years old.

As revealed in a few episodes, Carly likes a band called "Cuttlefish." Also, in iEnrage Gibby, she says that she plays the ukelele.

Possibly her most prominent trait, Carly - unlike Sam - is not tough, and even when furious, has never physically attacked anyone on-screen (but tackled Freddie in an angry manner in iThink They Kissed). However, on occasion, she will confront someone, even bullies and teachers, for her friends when it is needed, as shown in iHave a Lovesick Teacher and iMake Sam Girlier. She was also part of a girl mob (Sam and Shelby Marx) that beat up Nevel in iFight Shelby Marx.

Relationships With other Main Characters

 *  Sam Puckett : Carly and Sam met when they were about eight years old and Sam wanted to steal Carly´s tuna sandwich. When Carly fought back, Sam was impressed and they became friends. To this day, they share a close friendship that some fans even think of as platonic love (see: Cam Relationship).


 * Carly acts as a moral guardian to Sam, trying to keep her out of trouble and occasionally taking the blame for her pranks. Although Sam frequently causes Carly trouble, she likes her for being "creative, smart, fun and awesome". In iChristmas, it was shown that Carly's life would be very different without Sam and iCarly would never have existed. At times, Carly and Sam's fights are extremely bad, such as in iDon't Want to Fight and iSaw Him First. In iQuit iCarly, one of their fights even lead to a near-death situation for both of them. While Carly serves as a conscience for her, Sam seems to be Carly's protection. In iMake Sam Girlier, she beats up a bully, Jocelyn, after seeing her push Carly down. Where as Carly supports her friend more emotionally, she can look to Sam to physically protect her. Carly knows Sam like a sister and can usually predict her actions. (see: Cam Friendship).


 * Freddie Benson : Carly is very aware of Freddie's crush on her, and occasionally exploits that he would do anything for her if she says "Please? For me?" in a baby-ish voice. They keep up a good friendship, though, and know they can rely on each other when it´s necessary. Many fans wish for Carly and Freddie to end up together (see: Creddie). Freddie and Carly share in common that they maintain high grades, don't like getting in trouble, and live in the Bushwell Plaza. Freddie and Carly have become closer, with Freddie seeming to become a lot more comfortable in her presence. In more recent episodes it seems to appear that Carly is growing closer to Freddie, and is seen often touching him lightly or standing/sitting close to him. Carly is sometimes seen going to Freddie for help instead of Sam (see: Creddie Friendship).'''


 * Spencer Shay : Carly and her brother usually have a very good relationship and have fun hanging out together. Carly acts as the voice of reason or as an emotional support when needed, but can also rely on him when she has trouble. She is used to him letting her have a lot of freedom and gets irritated when he doesn't give her what she wants, as shown in iLook Alike. Their brother/sister relationship is very important to the show, (see: Sparly).

Boyfriends/Dates/Crushes
'''Ben Huebscher ''' In iKiss, Carly tells Sam and Freddie that her first kiss was with a boy named Ben Huebscher. It is unknown whether they were dating or not. He is named after an iCarly writer.

Jake Crandle (2007; Crush)''' ''' In "iLike Jake" (the fourth episode), she had a crush on Jake and he liked her back. After Jake saw Carly kiss Freddie on the nose (for helping to make Jake's singing voice sound good for the web show), he believed that they were a couple. Because of this, Jake decided to get back together with his ex-girlfriend, leaving Carly single.

Shane (2008; Crush, date)

She went out with him for a brief time in "iSaw Him First," but since Sam was also dating him at the same time, the two of them fight and decide that the one who kisses him first gets to date him. Shane gets tired of the girls' attempts to kiss him and breaks up with both, before falling down Carly's elevator shaft.

Griffin (2009; Boyfriend)

She dated him in "iDate a Bad Boy" until she found out he collected PeeWee Babies. She tried to make the relationship work, but then Griffin overheard Carly and Sam making fun of his PeeWee Babies and then broke up with her. He comes back in "iBeat the Heat" and tries to kiss her, but she refuses him.

Austin (2009; Date)

Carly chose him as her date in "iSpeed Date." At the end of the episode, she dumped him because he kept interrupted her with random sentences whenever she wanted to say something, in which she said to him several "Shut up's!" and then, "Get outta here!" after which he fled The Groovie Smoothie.

Freddie Benson (2010; Boyfriend)

Freddie has had a crush on Carly ever since he met her, but she constantly rejected him and said she just wanted to be friends with him. In "iLike Jake," Carly gave Freddie a kiss that was "strictly nasal" and in "iSpeed Date" they slow-danced together. They were in a relationship in "iSaved Your Life," but Sam convinced Freddie that Carly was only touched that he saved her life and wasn't in love with him, but what he did. They broke up, but agreed that if Carly still likes him when he's out of the casts, they can date again.

Enemies

 * Lewbert (various)
 * Nevel Papperman (iNevel, iRue The Day, iGive Away a Car, iWant My Website Back, iFight Shelby Marx, IPity The Nevel)
 * Tasha (iNevel)
 * Valerie (iWill Date Freddie)
 * Mr. Devlin (iPromise Not to Tell)
 * Jonah(iHate Sam's Boyfriend)
 * Amber Tate (iCarly Saves TV)
 * Zeebo (iCarly Saves TV)
 * Kyoko and Yuki (iGo To Japan)
 * Wade Collins (iRocked the Vote)
 * Missy Robinson (IReunite with Missy)
 * Chuck Chambers (iTwins)
 * Mr. Howard (especially iHave My Principals)
 * The Petographers (iMove Out)
 * Nora Dirshlitt (iPsycho)

Trivia

 * Carly has had multiple near death experiences: in iWanna Stay with Spencer (nearly getting hit in the face with a hammer); in iQuit iCarly (almost falling off a window washer platform); and in iSaved Your Life (nearly getting hit by a Taco truck, off-screen).
 * She and Sam had been friends five years before the episode iDon't Want to Fight.
 * She and Sam have broken up as best friends twice in the series. Once in iDon't Want to Fight and again in iQuit iCarly.
 * Carly is fond of the stores "Build-A-Bra" and "Glitter Gloss."
 * She is an avid believer in Bigfoot (iBelieve in Bigfoot).
 * Her great-grandmother gave her a heavily insured diamond bejeweled watch when she died.
 * She appears to like bad boys, like Griffin.
 * Despite the fact that Carly's birthday is on July 24, in iScream on Halloween, she says she's a Capricorn (which would place her birthday in January or late December). On iCarly.com, her birthday originally was said to be January 14, but it was changed shortly before the finale of Season 3, probably to make it closer to the airdate of iGot a Hot Room.
 * Carly and Sam have now been best friends for eight years.