Kids from the 90s will probably remember shows such as All That and The Amanda Show, but what’s more memorable is the leading actress Amanda Bynes. The question is what happened to her and what is she doing today? Now 38 years old, it’s been over a decade since she’s braced the big screen!
The Rise of Amanda Bynes
Amanda started her acting career at the age of 7 starring in a commercial for Nestle candy. Not long after she featured on Nickelodeon’s All That, a sketch comedy show. Towards the final days of All That, she got her breakthrough spin-off, The Amanda Show.
Once “The Amanda Show” finished, she moved onto “What I Like About You,” but really made a name for herself in “Big Fat Liar.” From there on in, Amanda Bynes starred in Box Office hits such as Hairspray and What A Girl Wants. Bynes’ acting career started out well, but her life slowly spiraled out of control as she struggled to cope with fame.
The Fall of Amanda Bynes
Amanda fell off our screens just as quickly as she came onto it. In 2010, Amanda Bynes retired from acting in 2010, admitting that problems in her personal life were too much to bear. So what happened?
The main reason for Amanda’s fall from grace was her drug addiction problems. The child star later confessed child stardom fuelled depression and she self-medicated with drugs. At first, it started with cannabis when at sixteen but moved onto prescription drugs. And it was overdosing on Adderall when her life took a turn for the worst.
Bynes finished her acting career with Easy A, during the height of her Adderall addiction, and it is then her infamous twitter rant happened. Not long after, she quit acting for good and has not yet returned to our screens. In 2018, Bynes spoke of a return to acting but that has yet to be the case. She did, however, graduate from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising with a bachelor’s degree.
Amanda Bynes Today
Amanda Bynes was engaged to Paul Michael, whom she met at Alcoholics Anonymous. In March 2020, she revealed on Instagram they were expecting a child together but it turned out to be fake news. Their relationship ended in 2021 but at least Amanda is doing much better now.
Bynes was released from her nine year conservatorship in March 2022. Her mother still has medical conservatorship powers but Amanda no longer has any financial constraints. Sadly in March 2023, Amanada was put in a 72-hour psychiatric hold. In late 2023, she began working on a podcast alongside Paul Sieminski but only released one episode before quitting the project. Most recently, Amanda Bynes has plans to work as a manicurist.
2 Comments
I just hope she is okay and wish her and her boyfriend and their unborn child well. Amanda did not just “go off the deep end” for no reason. Something in her life caused her issues. After Angelique Bates revealed how she was treated on the set of the show and admitted you have to ‘sell your soul’ I have no doubt Amanda has some childhood drama she’s struggled to deal with.
It’s a tough road in Hollywood and especially so for young actors who haven’t even had the chance to become ‘grounded”. Fairly certain initially becoming ‘popular’, having a fan base is what most dream of but then comes the reality of it all. You’re a piece of meat, you have no say and there’s more than enough vultures circling, most happy and willing to help you spend your money introduce you to drugs. Plus, if you’re the sensitive type and oh so young, it’s easy pickings! I wish her well and hope she’s been able to put away some of the money earned and try to enjoy a more normal life out of the spotlight.