What Happened To Amanda Bynes?

Amanda Bynes was once the darling of American teen comedy, but she hasn’t played in a movie in several years. The actor’s last moment in the limelight was with the release of EasyA in 2010, but since then, she hasn’t taken on any new acting roles. Instead, it seems Bynes has been focusing on her mental health recovery, though there’s always a possibility that we will see the teen icon again in roles down the road.

Bynes rose to stardom in 1999 with her sketch comedy series, The Amanda Show, when she was only 13 years old. From there, she quickly became a household name, starring in other Nickelodeon series like All That before eventually moving on to the movie world. Throughout the 2000s, she became the face of films like Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants, She’s the Man, Love Wrecked, and Sydney White. She finished off a very active decade with Easy A alongside Emma Stone, but after this, Bynes stopped appearing in the credits for movies and TV.

Amanda Bynes Stepped Away From Acting After Easy A In 2010

The Former Child Star Retired Over A Decade Ago

In the 2010 comedy filmEasy A, Bynes played Marianne, the popular, purity-pushing classmate to Emma Stone’s Olive Penderghast. The film performed well and was Stone’s breakout role, but Bynes hasn’t been seen on screen since. Shortly after the film’s release, the actor announced that she no longer enjoyed acting and would be stepping away from the profession for an unknown period of time.

Years later, Bynes explained in an interview with Paper Magazine that, at the Easy A premiere, she had been so upset by her own appearance that she decided she wanted out of the business. “I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie, and I didn’t like my performance,” she said, adding that she was convinced she needed to “stop acting after seeing it.” This came largely down to the actor’s belief that she looked overweight in the film, and it was this same idea that Bynes identifies as the start of her substance abuse.

Amanda Bynes’ Mental Health & Substance Abuse Stories Explained

The Actress Has Struggled With Many Difficulties Over The Last Decade

In her interview with Paper Magazine, Bynes admitted that she had begun to abuse Adderall during the high point of her acting career, believing that it would help her stay thin. She thought that this, combined with her abuse of alcohol and marijuana, contributed to her deteriorated mental health in the 2010s. “It affected my brain in a different way than it affects other people. It absolutely changed my perception of things,” she said. Things steadily escalated for Bynes until it was determined that she would be placed under a conservatorship in 2013.

Bynes’ parents, who requested the conservatorship (via PBS), stated that they were “deeply concerned” that their daughter might hurt herself or others if she were to maintain control of her medical care and finances. They reported that Bynes was convinced she was being watched and that she had become obsessed with planning excessive and dangerous cosmetic surgeries.

These claims were supported by Bynes’ public appearances as well. In the years before the conservatorship was granted in 2013, the actor was arrested on multiple occasions, once for throwing a marijuana bong out of her 36th-floor apartment in New York and another for driving under the influence in Los Angeles.

After the implementation of the conservatorship, Bynes was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder (via LA Times), and she reported that she was taking medication and working hard to improve her mental health so she could “live and work independently.” In 2022, it was determined by a judge (and supported by Bynes’ parents) that the actor was again capable of making her own medical and financial decisions, and Bynes’ conservatorship was lifted. Later that year, Bynes called the police on herself and requested psychiatric care. She has since been staying at an inpatient mental health facility to continue receiving support.

Related

Every Former Nickelodeon Child Star In The Quiet On Set Documentary

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV focuses on Nickelodeon behind the scenes in the 1990s and 2000s and features various former child actors.

What Amanda Bynes Has Done Since 2010

While She No Longer Acts, Amanda Bynes Hasn’t Been Inactive

Though Bynes hasn’t appeared in any movies since the teen romances of the 2000s, this isn’t to say that she hasn’t managed other achievements. The former actor started at California’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2014 and reported in 2019 via her Twitter (now X) account that she had graduated.

Bynes has also contemplated getting back into acting (via Good Morning America), as well as pursuing a career in fashion. As of 2023, Bynes is reportedly content to continue her treatment at the mental health facility she checked herself into, but as she continues her journey of growth, anything is possible for her future and career.

Amanda Bynes Came Back To The Spotlight After Quiet On Set

The Docuseries Opened A Dialogue About Children’s Programming

Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV, a documentary produced for ID and Max, was released in 2024. The five-part docuseries detailed the more reprehensible aspects behind the scenes of children’s television, but had a particular focus on shows created in the 1990s and 2000s for Nickelodeon, particularly those helmed by Dan Schneider. Bynes got her big break working on Schneider’s All That before having her own series, The Amanda Show.

While Bynes didn’t participate in the docuseries, her association with the shows discussed in the documentary and some of the cast members who did participate, gave the audience a new perspective on the possibility of what she would have gone through as a child in the industry. Toxic work environments, predators on sets, and even the potential for an inappropriate relationship with someone in a place of authority are all highlighted in the documentary.

The documentary prompted discussion as to just what was not being shown since so many of the recognizable names who worked for Nickelodeon at the time did not participate in the docuseries. Particular attention was paid to Bynes on social media with fans expressing empathy for her likely going through so much at a young age, even if she hasn’t addressed any of what she may or may not have experienced on Nickelodeon sets publicly.

Since then, Amanda Bynes hasn’t made any statements about the docuseries, but she does still maintain her own social media presence and continues to pursue her interests outside of the industry, like nail design. She has shared with fans on her Instagram that she has struggled with depression in the past, but Bynes is largely keeping her private life private.

Sources: Paper Magazine, PBS, Los Angeles Times, Good Morning America