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What Ever Happened to Amanda Bynes?
Content Warning: non-graphic description of disordered eating and body/gender dysmorphia, and addiction
Amanda Bynes was enamored by comedy at a young age, so, like many parents of child stars, Lynn and Rick Bynes encouraged her to pursue acting. By the time she hit 17, Bynes had booked three major movies and four T.V. shows on top of being a high school student. Bynes shouldered being the main breadwinner of her family at a young age, another recurring theme for child stars.
Bynes returned home from the set of Love Wrecked (filmed in 2005) having caught a severe case of Mono, dropping the star to a dangerous 100 lbs. Mono-related rapid weight loss usually goes away within a week or two, but Byne's mother made the very damaging remark that "she never looked better." According to People Magazine, Bynes had already attempted emancipation from her parents, so it comes at no surprise that Bynes later developed a dependency on Adderall to maintain the dangerous size.
Bynes would go on to play her most iconic role as Viola from She's the Man, which continued to damage the actress's view of herself.
from Paper Magazine (2018)
At the same time, Lindsay Lohan was skyrocketing to stardom herself. The two got attention from similar demographics, however, Lohan's roles in Mean Girls and Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen against Bynes's resume of quirky, farcical characters made Lohan out to be the one with "sex appeal". This label, of course, was cast upon Lohan surrounding Mean Girls, a job she booked at 18 years old. To be pitted against the "sexy one" while achieving the height of her own fame in a role that caused her such discomfort, all while balancing an eating disorder was a very challenging thing. How could Bynes celebrate being the "good girl" while Lohan was chastised for partying? Typecasting never feels good, especially if you're subjected to the "wrong type".
Typecast: assign an actor repeatedly to the same type of role (for our purposes, brand), as a result of the appropriateness of their appearance or previous success in such roles
from The Hollywood Reporter (2012)
So, what did Bynes do to break away from her teeny-bopper quirky brand? She tried pivoting to fashion, but her affordably line Dear at Steve and Barry's died along with the retail clothing chain in 2009.
Amanda Bynes talking about her line, Dear
At this point, Bynes is being spotted by TMZ out clubbing, with a new party boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, and booking more adult jobs like Living Proof (2008) and Easy A (2010) stripping away her previously perceived chastity. She also booked a very scandalous cover of MAXIM
Amanda Bynes talking on the shoot of MAXIM, 23 years old (2010)
Bynes landed her much-anticipated adult role in Hall Pass (2011) but had to withdrawal from the film as her addiction to Adderall and mental health came to a head. To the majority of the celebrity sphere unaware that she was anything but the "good girl," discovering that she, in fact, had a debilitating addiction was shocking. Bynes cited a busy schedule as the reason for her departure, but this signaled the beginning of the end for her, which she announced on Twitter.
Easy A (2010) came out later that fall and was the last time Bynes has been seen on the big screen. Despite being a more adult movie, Bynes's character Marianne is, interestingly enough, described as "devout" and "prudish".
“I literally couldn’t stand my appearance in that movie and I didn’t like my performance,” Bynes said. “I was absolutely convinced I needed to stop acting after seeing it. I was high on marijuana when I saw that but for some reason, it really started to affect me. I don’t know if it was a drug-induced psychosis or what, but it affected my brain in a different way than it affects other people. It absolutely changed my perception of things.”
After her Twitter retirement, Bynes got a DUI, became a major target for TMZ, and caused public speculation. Was she diverting from her childhood image intentionally to get more adult roles? Clearly, some people didn't take her retirement as seriously as she did. The timeline of her public spiral is detailed in The Hollywood Reporter.