AMANDA Bynes is widely known for her work in television and film through the 1990s and 2000s before more or less retreating into the shadows in 2010 at age 24.
Here is everything we know about Amanda Bynes and her movements since she left the world of showbiz.
Where is Amanda Bynes now?
Amanda’s abrupt and unexpected retirement was announced in a 2010 tweet that read, “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.”
The Nickelodeon star returned to the public eye in December 2023, in a big way, launching a new podcast with her friend Paul Sieminski.
In the podcast’s first episode – aptly titled Amanda Bynes & Paul Sieminski: The Podcast – Amanda interviewed tattoo artist Dahlia Moth and revealed her hopes for the project to go “mainstream.”
The podcast launch came just over a year after Amanda revealed she was going to cosmetology school.
She was due to make her first public appearance in years at the nostalgia-filled ’90s Con convention in March 2023 but dropped out due to an undisclosed illness.
On the Sunday she was supposed to be at the convention, she was reportedly found naked and alone wandering the streets of Los Angeles.
It was reported Amanda flagged down a car and was rushed to hospital where she was placed on a psychiatric hold.
A few months later, in July 2023, it was reported by TMZ that she had checked into an inpatient mental health center to receive treatment.
Amanda has long struggled with mental ill health among other issues and was in a conservatorship from August 2013 to March 2022.
Her parents Lynn and Rick are said to have supported her filing to end her conservatorship.
She said: “In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being.
“I would like to thank my lawyer and my parents for their support.”
In February 2020, Amanda announced she was engaged to mystery man Paul Michael.
But after some public ups and downs, E! News reported on July 26, 2022, that the pair had split for good and he wiped his social media of all traces of her and their relationship.
What is Amanda Bynes famous for?
The former actress shot to fame as a child star and reportedly had an agent by the age of seven.
She secured her first hit role in Nickelodeon’s All That when she was 10 and won a Kids’ Choice Award in 2000.
She later landed her own spin-off The Amanda Show and starred in her first movie Big Fat Liar in 2002.
But she is also known for her parts in romantic comedy films Love Wrecked, Hairspray, She’s The Man, What A Girl Wants, and Easy A.
The star’s brilliant performances earned her 10 awards throughout her career, including five Kids’ Choice Awards.
Acting aside, Amanda is also known for her rapid and obvious decline in mental health.
Her first extremely public breakdown occurred in 2013 and her mother was awarded a conservatorship over her.
Also about this time, she was arrested for driving under the influence, reckless endangerment, and possessing marijuana.
Following a dramatic series of events, which included several concerning tweets and allegations, it was revealed she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
She made bombshell claims that her father mentally, physically, and sexually abused her as a child before backtracking some hours later and saying: “My dad never did any of those things.”
Her mother filed to maintain the conservatorship in 2016.
In a 2018 “comeback” interview with Paper Magazine, Amanda attempted to explain some of her troubling behavior.
She revealed that she started smoking marijuana at 16 and then used ecstasy and cocaine.
She attributed walking off the set of Hall Pass in 2010 to her use of Adderall and said in the interview: “I’m really ashamed and embarrassed with the things I said.
“I can’t turn back time but if I could, I would. And I’m so sorry to whoever I hurt and whoever I lied about because it truly eats away at me.
“It makes me feel so horrible and sick to my stomach and sad.”
What movies has Amanda Bynes been in?
Amanda has starred in a large number of successful films, including:
- Big Fat Liar
- Charlotte’s Web 2: Wilbur’s Great Adventure
- What A Girl Wants
- Robots
- Love Wrecked
- She’s The Man
- Hairspray
- Sydney White
- Easy A
Her last appearance in a film was alongside co-star Emma Stone in the 2010 smash hit Easy A.
Once the darling of American teen comedy, Amanda confessed she announced her retirement upon watching the film and being unhappy with how she looked.
Amanda has also had many prominent roles and appearances in TV shows including:
- All That
- Figure It Out
- Blue’s Clues
- Arli$$
- The Amanda Show
- Crashbox
- Double Dare 2000
- The Drew Carey Show
- The Nightmare Room
- Rugrats
- What I Like About You
- Family Guy
- Living Proof
