Amanda Bynes wants to remind us that she’s still All That in 2018. After a 7-year acting hiatus, Bynes’ lawyer told Page Six that the child star is looking to make her return to the big (or small) screen in 2018, Us Weekly reports.
“She has had several offers but is waiting for the right one to come along for a comeback,” he said.
Among these offers is one reported to be a revival of The Amanda Show, which originally aired from 1999-2002 on Nickelodeon. Bynes was just 13 when the sketch comedy show began, and her talent at such a young age made her a highly sought after comedic actress in the years after the show’s cancellation. Her movie stardom boomed after the show ended, including beloved teen hits like She’s the Man, Sydney White and What a Girl Wants, all of which she starred in. She showed her musical chops in a supporting role as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray alongside Zac Efron. Her last film appearance was as the uber religious Marianne Bryant in Easy A in 2010.
Bynes famously retired from acting at the age of 24 in a now-deleted Tweet, in which she claimed that acting isn’t “as fun as it may seem.”
She went into a legal tailspin following her retirement, getting her first DUI in 2012, which was later followed by two hit-and-runs. A video of her driving and smoking a bong was released the same year by TMZ. In 2013, her Twitter became the source of much controversy — she candidly spoke about plastic surgery, called out multiple celebrities for their looks, and made sexually explicit comments to Drake. A few months after throwing a bong out of the window of her NYC apartment (yikes), Bynes was arrested and placed in an involuntary psychiatric hold.
Bynes’ mother, Lynn, became her conservator following her arrests, gaining control of all finances and legal decisions. Bynes enrolled at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in LA in 2014, and plans to restart her acting career once she graduates.
Her most recent TV appearance was a 2017 interview she did with Hollyscoop, where she admits to being “on drugs” when tweeting at Drake.
“I do miss acting and I actually have something surprising to tell you,” Bynes says in the video. “I’m going start acting again.”
With financial independence again, a fashion degree, and an outpouring of support from loyal fans, 2018 is shaping up to be the year of Amanda Bynes.