Amanda Bynes was an iconic childhood star who made many of us laugh from her comedies from the 1990s to early 2000s. However, you may have actually seen her face plastered all over the headlines in recent tabloids. In the past two years, Amanda Bynes has faced a slew of legal issues, shaved her head, been hospitalized, been arrested and entered rehab. So you may be wondering: what happened to her? Let’s take a step back, and walk through the evolution of Amanda Bynes.
If you were a 90’s kid or a big fan of Nickelodeon, then you should remember watching All That and the Amanda Show, and all the craziness that ensued. Now if you didn’t know, the Amanda Show was a sketch-based comedy TV show that ran from 1999 to 2002 that starred Amanda Bynes, Drake Bell and Josh Peck. The show revolved around dancing red lobsters, weird hillbilly sketches, Judge Trudy, and Amanda’s “Number 1 Fan” Penelope. This show was the beginning of Amanda Bynes’ fame.
If you didn’t watch Amanda on Nickelodeon, then you may remember her from various films and sitcoms that she starred in from 2002 to 2010. Some of her most notable roles included playing teenage girl Holly Tyler in What I Like About You from 2002 to 2006.
Similarly, in 2003 she played Daphne Reynolds in What A Girl Wants. She also starred in She’s the Man (2006), where she played both roles of Viola and Sebastian. Then in 2007, Amanda starred in Hairspray as Penny Pingleton and Sydney, in Sydney White. In 2010, she starred in Easy A with Emma Stone and Lisa Kudrow. Bynes played Marianne, the “mean” girl who spreads the gossip about Olive. Later that same year, Amanda Bynes appeared on her last red-carpet and announced that she planned on quitting acting, and wanted to start her career as a rapper and a fashion designer.
For Bynes, 2013 was a rough year. In March she was arrested and charged with a DUI. Two months later she was arrested in New York City for criminal possession of marijuana, and reckless endangerment, after police discovered she tried to throw a bong out of her apartment window on the 36th floor. Another two months passed and Bynes was detained after allegedly starting a fire in a driveway. She was hospitalized under a 72-hour mental health evaluation hold. Finally after five months in rehab, Bynes enrolled in Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM) in Irvine, California.
In 2014, after attending FIDM for a couple of months, it was reported that Amanda had left school and shared on Twitter that she was moving to New York City. She also shared her plans of transferring to either NYU or Columbia University. Then in September, Bynes was arrested for a second DUI.
In early October, Amanda announced on Twitter that she got engaged to her boyfriend Caleb, who she met in rehab. After digging into her “boyfriend,” it was discovered that the two met in rehab, but never dated. Caleb also relased a formal statement claiming that he has no intentions of ever proposing to her.
On October 8th Amanda Bynes dances erratically while in a small clothing boutique. Hours later, she was accused of shoplifting at Barneys, located on Madison Avenue in New York City. She walked out of the store without paying for a $200 hat, and was caught by security standing outside the store. She defended her actions by claiming she needed a hat to disguise herself from paparazzi. Apparently the store let her go, but not before making her sign a no-trespassing agreement, thus banning her from entering the store ever again.
Last week, Amanda was held under a second 72-hour involuntary psychiatric hold, after tweeting online that her father supposedly sexually and mentally abused her as a child. Minutes later, she recanted her statements, claiming that she said those things because of a “microchip.”
Her time in rehab now been extended for another two weeks, and could last up to one year. But, this time, sources are reporting that doctors are working towards obtaining an LPS Hold, which a judge will grant if the patient is “gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism.” This LPS hold will allow doctors to treat and medicate her at a hospital or medical facility, even against her own will.
Hopefully Amanda Bynes will get the treatment and help that she needs. Her recent tweets prove that she is in great need for psychiatric care. Society’s unsympathetic nature towards celebrities with mental breakdowns shouldn’t deviate from the importance of knowing that mental illnesses are serious and deadly.