Amanda Laura Bynes is an American actress, comedian, singer and fashion-designer based in Los Angeles, California, USA. Amanda plays the main characters, Viola Hastings and Fake Sebastian, in the 2006 movie, She's the Man.
Biography[]
Amanda was born and raised in Thousand Oaks, California as the youngest of three children to Lynn and Rick Bynes. Bynes has two older siblings, Tommy and Jillian. Amanda started acting at the age of 7, doing small parts in advertisements. Amanda had a very religious upbringing, with her Jewish mother and Catholic dad. Amanda made her film debut in the 2002 movie, Big Fat Liar. In June 2010, Amanda said that she planned to retire from acting, announcing on her Twitter page, "I don’t love acting anymore, so I’ve stopped doing it." A month later, Amanda had an apparent change of heart and "unretired". At the 2011 MTV Movie Awards, Amanda told People Magazine that she's taking "time off" from acting. Amanda’s last role to date is her role as mean girl Marianne in the 2010 movie Easy A.
In 2012, Amanda was charged with driving under the influence of drugs. Two years later, the charge was dropped and she received a three-year probation. In May 2013, Bynes was charged with reckless endangerment and Marijuana possession after she was found smoking in the lobby of her Manhattan apartment building. When officers entered her 36th-floor apartment, she allegedly threw a bong out the window. A New York County judge dismissed the case against her in June 2014.
In July 2013, the sheriff of Ventura County detained her after she allegedly started a small fire in the driveway of a stranger in Thousand Oaks. She was hospitalized under a 72-hour mental health evaluation hold. Bynes's parents filed for a conservatorship for their daughter shortly after her hospitalization began. In August, Bynes' mother was granted a temporary conservatorship over Bynes's affairs.
In October 2014, Bynes accused her father of emotional and sexual abuse in a series of Tweets on Twitter; after her parents protested and claimed innocence, Bynes tweeted that her father had never abused her adding: "The microchip in my brain made me say those things but he's the one that ordered them to microchip me". Days later Bynes' mother again received conservatorship of Amanda Bynes. Soon afterward Bynes announced that she had been diagnosed with Bipolar. In August 2018, paperwork was filed to continue said conservatorship until August 2020.
In 2018, Bynes stated she had been sober for four years with the help of her parents. She also apologized for what she said on Twitter during her years of substance abuse: "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." In an interview, Bynes stated that during her days of substance abuse she experimented with Cocaine and MDMA, but the drug she "abused the most" was the ADHD prescription medication Adderall.
In February 2022, Bynes filed to end her conservatorship. Her attorney stated that Bynes believed her condition was improved and protection of the court was no longer necessary. Attorneys for her parents stated that they supported her in ending it.The conservatorship was officially terminated on March 22, 2022.
On March 20, 2023, Bynes was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold after she flagged a bystander for help while naked and called 911 following a psychotic episode in Los Angeles. The previous weekend she had been scheduled to appear at the 90s con in Connecticut, her first scheduled public event since the end of her conservatorship, but did not make the trip, apparently due to an “illness” of some kind. Her parents have said that they currently don’t intend to file for another Conservatorship.
Filmography[]
Films
2002 | Kaylee | ||
2003 | Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Big Adventure | Nellie (voice) | |
2003 | What a Girl Wants | Daphne Reynolds | |
2005 | Robots | Piper Pinwheeler | |
2005 | Lovewrecked | Jenny Taylor | |
2006 | She's the Man | Viola Hastings/Fake Sebastian | |
2007 | Hairspray | Penny Pingleton | |
2007 | Sydney White | Sydney White | |
2008 | Living Proof | Jamie | |
2010 | Easy A | Marianne Bryant |
- Television
Year | Show | Role | |
---|---|---|---|
1996–2000 | All That | Various | |
1997–99 | Figure it Out | Panelist | |
1998 | Blue's Clues | Herself | |
1999 | Arli$$ | Crystal Dupree | |
1999–2002 | The Amanda Show | Host/Various characters/Penelope Taynt | |
2000 | Crashbox | Pink Robot | |
2001 | The Drew Carey Show | Sketch player | |
2001 | The Nightmare Room | Danielle Warner | |
2001–02 | Rugrats | Taffy (voice) | |
2002–06 | What I Like About You | Holly Tyler | |
2008 | Family Guy | Anna | |
2009 | Canned | Sarabeth |
Discography[]
- Soundtracks
- 2007: Hairspray: Soundtrack to the Motion Picture
- Singles or Songs
- 2007: "Without Love" (Hairspray)
- 2007: "You Can't Stop the Beat" (Hairspray)
Stage[]
In her childhood she performed on stage, Annie, The Secret Garden, Godspell and The Sound of Music.
Fashion[]
In 2007, Amada signed a five-year deal with Steve and Barry's create her own fashion line, Dear, consisting of apparel and accessories. The clothing line launched in stores August 16, 2007.
Trivia[]
- Although the casting crew knew right away that Amanda was perfect for the role of Penny in the film version of Hairspray, there were some initial issues with her singing voice. At first, she seemed to be holding back and lacking the confidence to belt out her musical numbers, and it took a while to help her grow more comfortable with that. Fortunately, over time, Amanda improved, and those involved in the production were pleased with her performance.
- The light blue dress that Amanda wore at the end of Hairspray ended up being so small, she essentially had to be sewn into it, according to film director Adam Shankman. Ironically, the exact same thing had to be done with actress Olivia Newton-John's final outfit in fellow film/musical classic Grease.
- In 2007, Amanda said that she was known as "Auntie Chickie" to her niece Jay Lynn and nephew Matthew.
- In What A Girl Wants, the photo album that Amanda's character gives to her father is filled with real pictures of Amanda as a little girl (although not all the pictures are actually her).
- Amanda lives in the same neighborhood as Christy Carlson Romano, Raven, and Ricky Ullman.
- Amanda has 6 pets. She has 2 dogs: Tootsie Roll (Golden Lab) and Betty Boop (Australian Shepard), 3 cats: Subbie, D.C, and Tiger, and a fish named Bella.