There was a time when Amanda Bynes was considered the undisputed princess of kid’s TV, but these days she’s nowhere near fame and is only remembered for her wild antics. So, where did everything go wrong with Amanda Bynes?
1. Her Rise To Stardom
Born in 1986, Amanda Bynes has been acting since she was just seven years old. She made a name for herself on Nickelodeon shows like Figure It Out and All That, eventually landing a starring role in The Amanda Show in 1999, at the age of 13.
2. Becoming A Teen Icon
After getting her own show, Amanda quickly became one of the most recognizable child stars in the world. She was starring in movies like She’s the Man and Hairspray, appearing on the covers of magazines, and even starting a budding music career. She was being called the next Drew Barrymore, getting even more successful as she grew older.
3. The Surprise Retirement
By the late 2000s, the child star was now grown and still getting roles in movies like Easy A, but she was quickly becoming disinterested in her job. In 2010, she announced on Twitter that she was retiring from acting, stating that being an actress isn’t all it’s hyped up to be.
If anyone knows what Hollywood is like, it’s someone who’s been in it since she was 7.
4. The DUI
Bynes kept a pretty low profile for a while after her retirement, but in 2012, she was back in the headlines. She was arrested in West Hollywood for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol. While she isn’t the first celebrity to be caught drunk driving, she had a rather unusual response to the whole ordeal.
5. Asking The President
Following her arrest, Bynes pleaded not guilty and took to Twitter to explain her actions. She claimed that she “doesn’t drink” and even reached out to President Barack Obama, of all people, to help her clear her name.
6. The Troubles Don’t Stop There
A few months after her DUI charge, the former child star was arrested yet again for two separate hit-and-runs in September of 2012. She had a few more run-ins with the cops throughout the year, beginning a very troubling period in her life.
7. The Tweets Go Crazy
The arrests attracted a lot of trolls to Byne’s social media accounts, but instead of ignoring the trolls, she just kept feeding them. She got into arguments with haters, fans, and even other celebrities like RuPaul. Not only was it damaging to her mental health, but it was also losing a lot of the fans she made over the years.
Some people were concerned about her erratic behavior, but others were simply enjoying the public meltdown.
8. Throwing The Bong
Despite claiming to never drink or do drugs, Amanda Bynes was arrested yet again in 2013, this time on a drug-related charge. She allegedly threw a bong out of a building in Manhattan, causing the police to charge her with endangerment, drug possession, and tampering with evidence.
9. The Tipping Point
Amanda was having a very serious meltdown, but things were about to get much worse. In July 2013, she was arrested after starting a fire in a stranger’s driveway in Ventura County, California. After this, she was put under a psychiatric hold.
10. A Stint In Rehab
After the psychiatric hold, the actress had a 5-month stint in rehab. She quietly disappeared from the news during this time, and most people thought the worst was over. But there was also a change in how the public was perceiving her.
11. The Genuine Breakdown
In the beginning, the internet simply ridiculed Amanda Bynes as just another child star who “went off the rails”. But the psychiatric hold proved that this wasn’t a laughing matter, this was a genuine mental breakdown that could potentially bring real harm to the former teen sensation.
12. A Quiet Year
For almost an entire year, Amanda Bynes mostly steered clear of both the media and the police. She avoided getting into trouble and kept her nose clean (both literally and figuratively), but it was only a matter of time before things would be back to “normal”.
13. Wild Accusations
After staying clean for a year, Bynes found herself in some more controversy in October 2014. She took to Twitter to accuse her father of mistreating her in almost every way possible. Some of the accusations were vile, and of course, most people thought Amanda was being serious in all of this.
14. Concerned Parents
Both of Amanda’s parents denied her accusations. They claimed that her claims stem from lingering mental problems and that Amanda simply isn’t in the right state of mind. Bynes herself would later deny the accusations, saying that she wasn’t serious and that the “microchip in her brain” made her say it.
15. Losing Her Freedom
After the whole accusation fiasco, it became clear Amanda was not in the right headspace and she should not be making major decisions on her own. Her mother had already filed for a conservatorship back in 2013, and in late 2014, it was approved. Amanda’s mother was now responsible for making all of her financial and legal decisions, similar to the case with Britney Spears.
16. Mental Disorders
After years filled with drama and controversy, Amanda Bynes seemingly opened up about some of her struggles in late 2014. She tweeted about how she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, confirming she wasn’t just “acting out” but rather struggling with something very serious.
But she would also later deny ever sending out that tweet, claiming someone else was using her phone. But whether it was her or not, most people had stopped clowning on the struggling star. Instead, they just hoped she would find help and get better.
17. Improving Health
For the following four years, Amanda Bynes almost disappeared from the public eye. There were public appearances here and there, but no controversies, no drugs, and certainly no wild tweets. She looked healthier than ever and seemed genuinely happy. There were also reports of her joining fashion school and gearing up for a Hollywood comeback.
18. Opening Up
In 2018, Amanda Bynes sat down with Paper Magazine and opened up about her struggles over the years. She talked about how she was addicted to drugs (after denying it for years), how rehab helped her, and how she’s still trying to turn her life around.
The interview sort of rejuvenated public interest in her, but unlike all the hate she received before, most people were extremely supportive of her. But that also meant they had very high hopes for her…
19. Relapse
With the public eye back on her, Amanda Bynes was under a lot of pressure, and unfortunately, she succumbed to the pressure. She checked into a mental health facility citing too much stress and some drug-related issues.
20. Graduating
After the brief mental health scare, Amanda seemed to be doing just fine for the most part. She graduated from fashion school in 2019 and joined Instagram the same year for the first time. Her social media antics were a lot calmer this time around, and most of her fans were just happy to see her in good health.
21. Gaining Her Freedom
For three years, Bynes would have no mental health scares or close calls. While her Hollywood comeback was far in the dust, she was still doing better than ever. With that, she officially filed to end her conservatorship, having the full support of her parents to do so. In March 2022, it officially ended, making Amanda a free and independent woman once again.
22. Rocky Love Life
Amid her stint in and out of facilities, Bynes fell in love with a man named Paul Michael. She had met Michael in a facility in 2020, and the two became on-again-off-again fiancees. Their relationship was the definition of rocky, and it included multiple times when the police were called on them for loud arguments. Ultimately, the couple didn’t last.
23. Health Scare
It was clear Amanda wasn’t doing well after her on-and-off relationship, and a lot of fans were scared that she’d have another relapse. Unfortunately, that’s what happened in 2023, when she had a psychotic breakdown while inside a car and had to call 911 for help. Thankfully, she was completely unharmed, and she got props for managing to deal with the situation like an adult.
She was placed on a psychiatric hold for 72 hours but was later released. She continues to receive treatment for various mental health struggles.
24. Signs Of Hope
Even though it’s clear to everyone that Amanda Bynes’s struggles are far from over, it’s clear that she’s a very different person from who she was in 2013. Every year, Amanda seems more and more responsible and aware of her actions. Some people might still troll her for her different looks and her past actions, but there’s no denying that she’s at least trying to get better, and if you analyze her history, she is getting better.
