Carly Shay

Carly Shay (born July 24) is the protagonist of the TV series iCarly, and her own web show, iCarly. She is the younger sister of Spencer Shay and the daughter of Colonel Steven Shay and Mrs. Shay. She lived with her older brother in Apartment 8-C at Bushwell Plaza while their father is stationed on a Navy submarine and her mother is never mentioned. She's the best friend of Sam Puckett and former best friend of Missy Robinson, whom she hung out with during her childhood. She is also the best friend and ex-girlfriend of Freddie Benson, who lives across the hallway (Apt. 8-D) and had a long crush on her, started the day they met, which maybe still lasts. In the final episode of iCarly, iGoodbye, Carly took the difficult decision to move to Italy to be with her father for a period of time ("taking a break for a while").

Characteristics and Personality
Carly is a nice, easy going, beautiful, and caring person who would do anything for her friends, although she can be whimsical at times when she doesn't get things her way, such as in iLook Alike, when Spencer refuses to let her go to a wrestling match.

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 wrongdoing.

She is easily grossed out by vermin, the gross videos Sam likes (except in iStage an Intervention, when she wanted to see a guy who could pull his lip down over his chin), or even when Spencer says "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; however, in iPsycho, she seems only mildly distressed when Nora locks her, Sam and Freddie in her sound booth.

She takes really long showers when she is depressed or needs to think, as mentioned in iGive Away a Car. She sometimes takes chairs in with her.

In iWanna Stay With Spencer, it was implied Carly used to be a sick child. 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. Spencer gives her decaffeinated coffee although she is not aware of this. Possibly her most prominent trait, Carly, unlike Sam, is not tough, and even when furious, she has never physically attacked anyone on-screen (but tackled Freddie in an angry manner in iThink They Kissed). However, rarely, we will see her attacking someone verbally or even physically, such as bullies or teachers, but she would definitely do it for her friends, as we have seen 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 although Nevel said he wasn't scared of her.

Carly shows singing ability in iDo, when she sings Shakespeare, and in iPie, when she tries to get people at a funeral to sing Amazing Grace.

Sam Puckett
Carly and Sam met when they were about eight years old and Sam wanted to steal Carly's tuna sandwich that she was eating for lunch. When Carly fought back, Sam was impressed and the two eventually became friends. To this day, they share a close friendship that some fans even think of as romantic to a certain degree. 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; iCarly would never have existed and Carly would be dating Nevel Papperman. 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. They seem to be as close as sisters as they look out for each other (see Cam Friendship).

Freddie Benson
Freddie is Carly's best friend and she cares about him deeply. If Sam is unavailable for some reason, he is one of the first people she goes to for help. Freddie always had a crush on Carly and they dated for a short time after he saved her life in ISaved Your Life, but broke up because Freddie didn't want a relationship based on what he did for her. It has never been mentioned again until recently; Freddie may have started to have feelings for her again because he was sending her signals in iOpen A Restaurant. In iGoodbye, it was shown that Carly still had feelings for Freddie when she kissed him before she left for Italy with her dad. Freddie's feelings for her were obviously returned, because he kissed her back and later did a double fist pump into the air in triumph. This made their love for each other canon, although their relationship status currently remains unclear.

Spencer Shay
Carly and her brother usually have a very strong relationship and often have fun hanging out together. Carly acts as the voice of reason or as an emotional support when needed. She is so used to him letting her have a lot of freedom that she 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.

Gibby Gibson
Carly and Gibby have known each other for four years. She has shown a little attraction to Gibby, and Gibby may be attracted to Carly. They are very good friends, and he's a recurring guest on her webshow. Carly once mentioned that Gibby was "sweet, cute, and fun" and considered asking him to the Girls Choice Dance.

Trivia

 * Her best friend is Sam Puckett
 * She is known to have her own Debit card, a necklace that says "Love & Giggles, and enjoy Gummy Hearts" in iRescue Carly.
 * It is mentioned various times that Carly watches and possibly likes the show Full House.
 * It is mentioned in iWanna Stay With Spencer that she has asthma, though she has not had an attack since she was a child.
 * Carly has had multiple near-death experiences: in iWanna Stay with Spencer (nearly getting hit in the head with a hammer); in iQuit iCarly (almost falling off a window washer platform, along with Sam); and in iSaved Your Life (almost getting hit by a taco truck, but rescued by Freddie, off-screen).
 * Carly had only two boyfriends, including her best friend Freddie.
 * Carly's head has nearly been hit twice: in iWanna Stay with Spencer (nearly getting hit with a hammer) and iStart a Fanwar (a fan threw a chair at Carly at Webicon).
 * She and Sam had been friends five years before the episode iDon't Want to Fight. Carly and Sam have now been best friends for ten years.
 * 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 Build-A-Bra and Glitter Gloss which are both stores at the Crown Ridge Mall.
 * Carly has a bikini with a floral design, skirt bikini bottom, and a g-string in the back. (iHatch Chicks)
 * Carly has shown her midsection the most out of any female on the show, due to her wearing a bikini (iHatch Chicks), a red bandana top in her recurring cowgirl costume, a hula skirt with a coconut bikini top (iSaw Him First), a two-piece mixed martial arts outfit (iFight Shelby Marx), a purple and black plaid blouse (iSpace Out), an 80s costume (iBelieve in Bigfoot), and a little bit of her belly in a plaid pink - black cami. (iBeat the Heat)
 * She is an avid believer in Bigfoot (iBelieve in Bigfoot).
 * Her great-grandmother gave her a heavily insured diamond-encrusted watch when she died, although it seems Spencer and Carly did not go to her funeral. It came in handy when her room was destroyed in a fire and her heavily insured diamond-encrusted watch was destroyed in the fire. It was insured for $82,000. (iGot a Hot Room)
 * She appears to really like bad boys, like Griffin, possibly because they are like her best friend Sam.
 * 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 early January or late December). On iCarly.com, her birthday originally was said to be January 14, which would explain the claim of being a capricorn, but it was changed shortly before the finale of Season 3, probably to make it closer to the airdate of iGot a Hot Room.
 * Although it would be logical to think that her full first name is "Carlotta" ("Carly" is short for "Carlotta") because she gets called that several times in the series, in fact, there is no proof in the series or the website that "Carlotta" is her true first name. It is eventually proven false in iStill Psycho when the police send a text to Carly which has the characters' full names.
 * Carly is the youngest of the iCarly trio (Sam, Freddie and herself), as her birthday is in July and Freddie and Sam's birthdays are in February and April, respectively. Though again it is thought that her birthday may be in January, so her age as opposed to that of her friends is debatable.
 * She loves the band Cuttlefish.
 * Carly's only younger counterpart was presented on iDon't Want to Fight, in a flashback showing when Carly and Sam met.
 * In iOwe You, Spencer says Carly used to be a Sunshine Girl.
 * Although Carly is the main character in the series, she no longer appears in new iCarly.com segments due to Miranda Cosgrove's busy schedule. The gang only say she's on camera.
 * Carly sometimes pokes people when she wants to get them to focus (iPromise Not To Tell).
 * She apparently loves asking people to have a bath.
 * Caleb predicted that she would be the future Vice President of the United States.
 * In iLost My Mind, Carly grabs a set of keys on the way out of the door on the way to Troubled Waters. This poses the possibility that Carly can drive.
 * Carly's star sign is Leo, despite her saying it's Capricorn in iScream on Halloween.
 * The only time Carly has had a boyfriend by the end of an episode is in iToe Fat Cakes.
 * In iDate Sam and Freddie, it is revealed that she uses a machine that keeps her from snoring.
 * Carly, until the episode iRescue Carly was made known, was the only one of the main characters (including Gibby) not to have her name featured in an episode title. Instead, iCarly was used (the webshow's title).
 * It is known that Carly is claustrophobic, as seen in iSam's Mom and iSpace Out. Depending on the situation, Carly can lose herself and become violent to try and escape, other times while freak out and make strange 'nyahh' noises.
 * In iGet Pranky, when Carly is watching TV she is watching Drake and Josh, in the episode when Drake and Josh think they killed Megan's pet hamster. Then she says 'How come that little girl is so good at pranks?' she's talking about herself.
 * Carly has had one job in iGot a Hot Room at the Groovy Smoothie.
 * She is the first person to beat Shelby Marx.
 * While Carly has partied with Tori Vega in the crossover iParty with Victorious, this is not the first time actress Victoria Justice has been on iCarly. She also played the CFC champion Shelby Marx in iFight Shelby Marx.
 * She was eighteen when the series ended.
 * Her hair was styled differently in the first season.