Embattled actress Amanda Bynes has been in and out of the spotlight for more than a decade following a series of legal troubles and mental health issues that landed her in a conservatorship.
Now, the former Nickelodeon star is attempting to follow in the footsteps of Britney Spears as she prepares to retrieve her freedom and full autonomy over her life.
Page Six takes a look back at Bynes’ rise as a child comedy star, her decline as a Hollywood bad girl and what’s next for the actress-turned-fashion designer.
Bynes is born and raised in California
Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks, Calif., on April 3, 1986. Her mom, Lynn Organ, was a dental assistant, and her father, Rick Bynes, was a dentist. She began acting in local plays from a very young age and got an agent by the age of 7, multiple outlets reported.
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Bynes revealed in 1999, when she was just 12 on “The Howie Mandel Show,” that her dad signed her up at age 10 for a kid’s comedy camp at The Laugh Factory. While there, she performed acts in front of comedy legends like Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor. Bynes said at the camp’s graduation that she was discovered by Nickelodeon producers.
Bynes lands her first big break on “All That”
After producers Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider found Bynes at the comedy camp, she became part of “All That,” a popular “Saturday Night Live”-style kids series, from 1996 to 2000. She quickly became one of the most popular cast members on the show with segments like “Ask Ashley,” “Whateverrr!,” “Captain Tantrum” and more.
Bynes gets her own spinoff, “The Amanda Show”
Amid the success of “All That,” Bynes was given her own show on Nickelodeon called ”The Amanda Show,” which ran from 1999 to 2002. The sketch-comedy series featured new characters like Penelope Taynt, Jude Trudy, Moody and Crazy Courtney.
Bynes won the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards for “Favorite TV Actress” for all three seasons of “The Amanda Show,” according to E! News. There are conflicting reports online about whether the show ended because Nickelodeon canceled it, or because Bynes herself decided to move on.
Bynes takes her talents from the small screen to the big screen
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Bynes made her first feature film debut in 2002 in the Frankie Muniz-led family comedy “Big Fat Liar.” The movie reportedly grossed more than $50 million worldwide.
Fresh off that film’s success, Bynes soon became a leading lady in romantic comedies like “What A Girl Wants” in 2003 and “She’s The Man” in 2006.
However, she didn’t completely abandon the small screen. From 2002 to 2006, Bynes starred alongside Jennie Garth in the coming-of-age TV series “What I Like About You,” which was geared toward a more mature audience than her Nickelodeon viewers.
At this time, Bynes cemented herself as one of Hollywood’s most in-demand young actresses. From 2006 to 2010, her career continued to flourish with roles in box office movies like “Hairspray,” “Sydney White” and “Easy A.”
However, the latter would be her final role in a major film to date.
Bynes quits acting
In June 2010, Bynes surprised the world by announcing on Twitter that she was quitting acting during what seemed like the peak of her career.
She wrote from a now-deleted account, “Being an actress isn’t as fun as it may seem. If I don’t love something anymore, I stop doing it. I don’t love acting anymore, so I’ve stopped doing it. I know 24 is a young age to retire, but you heard it here first.”
Bynes later revealed in an interview with Paper Magazine in 2018 that her self-esteem issues played a part in why she took a step back from Hollywood.
“I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in [‘Easy A’} and I didn’t like my performance,” she shared. “I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it.”
Bynes continued, “I was high on marijuana when I saw that but for some reason it really started to affect me. I don’t know if it was a drug-induced psychosis or what, but it affected my brain in a different way than it affects other people. It absolutely changed my perception of things.”
Bynes’ legal troubles begin
In 2012, Bynes got arrested for the first time for a DUI after she she clipped a sheriff’s deputy’s cruiser with her black BMW at around 3 a.m. in West Hollywood. Her mugshot showed that her signature sandy blonde locks had been dyed a light pink hue.
In February 2014, she was convicted of reckless driving for that incident, per the LA Times. She was sentenced to three years of probation and three months of alcohol education classes.
In 2012, she was also charged with two hit-and-runs for incidents on April 10 and Aug. 4. The first one occurred just days after her DUI arrest.
While those cases were ongoing on the West Coast, Bynes had another run-in with the law on the East Coast. She threw a bong out of her Times Square apartment’s 36th floor window after cops responded to a call that she’d been smoking pot in the lobby.
During this time, she made several court appearances with a new look that consisted of colorful and disheveled wigs, large sunglasses and piercings.
The bong-tossing case was eventually dismissed after Bynes agreed to undergo regular psychiatric treatment. She was charged with reckless endangerment and marijuana possession for the crime.
By September 2014, however, Bynes was booked again for a second DUI charge after police “determined she was under the influence of a controlled substance.” She was reportedly high on marijuana at the time.
Bynes goes on bizarre Twitter rants
While Bynes was dealing with legal drama in the courtroom, she was seemingly blowing off steam on Twitter all throughout 2013.
The former Hollywood darling-turned-bad girl called out everyone from Barack Obama to Drake on the social media platform.
In tweets from the now-deleted account, Bynes called the then-President of the United States and his wife, Michelle Obama, “ugly,” and previously asked POTUS to “fire the cop” who arrested her back in 2012, according to Us Weekly.
Bynes also broke the internet when she asked Drake to “murder” her vagina, and made outlandish remarks like, “I could never marry a German because I’m Jewish.”
Bynes enrolls in fashion school
Although Bynes became a Hollywood star, she has known from a very young age that she had a passion for fashion.
In 1999, when she appeared on “The Howie Mandel Show,” the then-rising child star even brought drawings of her designs. “I want to be, like, a fashion designer – I love to draw,” she told the host at the time, even musing what she would one day call her line.
After taking a break from social media, Bynes appeared to be on the mend, enrolling at at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in January 2014. Sources said she was a “great student” who “always participated and really cared about her classes.”
However, a string of mental health issues set her back in her studies. She was reportedly kicked out of the school for causing “horrendous arguments” with classmates, but in 2017 got back on track.
At the onset of her final year, she entered a mental health facility due to a stress-related relapse, but was able to graduate in June 2019 after nearly five years at FIDM.
Bynes reveals psychiatric issues on social media
Bynes was first hospitalized on a 5150 psychiatric hold in July 2013 after allegedly setting a fire in an elderly woman’s driveway.
Then in October 2014, she was again placed in a psychiatric hold in LA after posting a series of disturbing tweets, in which she claimed her dad had sexually, physically and verbally abused her. She also accused him of putting a “microchip” in her brain.
A month later, Bynes announced on Twitter she had been diagnosed with bipolar and manic depressive disorder, but said she was “seeing my psychologist and pyshchiatrist [sic] weekly so I’m fine :D,” according to E! News.
Bynes is placed under a conservatorship
In October 2014, while Bynes was struggling with her mental health, her mother, Lynn, was granted a conservatorship over her then-28-year-old daughter.
According to a legal petition obtained by People at the time, a judge ruled the actress “poses a substantial risk to herself, to others, and to property.”
“[Amanda has been] spending large amounts of her savings,” the court documents stated. “It has been reported that she has recently made extensive purchases as gifts from jewelry stores, such as Cartier, for strangers.”
Lynn was tasked with overseeing her daughter’s estate, which was valued at $5 million in 2014. Just days after becoming conservator, she requested to transfer control to a medical health professional and money manager.
However, it seems that Lynn maintained legal authority – despite help from professionals – since she still oversees Bynes’ personal, medical and financial affairs.
Bynes briefly returns to the spotlight with Paper Magazine
While Bynes was under a conservatorship and quietly studying at fashion school, she avoided red carpets and stayed out of the limelight.
However, in November 2018, she “broke the internet” with a cover story for Paper Magazine and accompanying photo shoot that showed a much more polished version of Bynes than fans had seen in recent years.
In the revealing profile, she opened up for the first time about her drug use, which she said began with marijuana at age 16. She also said she used cocaine “three times.”
Bynes said she learned that Adderall could allegedly be used to stay thin on the set of “Hairspray” and obtained a prescription after visiting “a psychiatrist and faking the symptoms of ADD.”
She also got candid about her rants on Twitter, telling the mag, “I’m really ashamed and embarrassed with the things I said. I can’t turn back time but if I could, I would.”
Bynes announces her engagement
On Valentine’s Day 2020, Bynes announced she was engaged and then posted a photo of her “lover,” who was later identified as Paul Michael.
In May 2020, the couple shocked fans by seemingly announcing on Instagram that they were expecting a child. However, Bynes’ attorney shut down those claims.
According to a post shared on March 9, 2022 on Bynes’ new Instagram account, the engaged couple are still together.
Bynes files to end her conservatorship
In February 2022, Bynes filed to end her conservatorship of the person and her estate for good after nearly nine years.
The actress’ parents, who were able to maintain a close relationship with her throughout the guardianship, said they were supportive of it coming to an end. A judge is set to make a decision on March 22, 2022.
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