She's The Man! Amanda Bynes From Breakdown To Comeback & Everything In Between

Beginning as a child actor often creates a life that is riddled with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows … just ask Amanda Bynes. The star was embroiled in legal troubles at the height of her career, and Amanda started to crumble under the pressure of fame.

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Amanda’s in-the-spotlight journey began when she stole scenes left and right while studying at the iconic Comedy Store in Hollywood as a youngster. She landed an agent, a manager and then Nickelodeon called—launching her stardom with a number of hit shows on the youth-centric cable network.

MORE: The 7 biggest takeaways from Amanda Bynes' Paper Magazine interview

As a child actor, Amanda had the most chaotic of schedules. At one point, she had three shows airing on Nick! Then, movie studios came a-calling. She had a string of hits that found each making more money at the box office than the previous. She was on top of the world. Then … it all started to collapse.

Her behavior got weirder, often using social media to spotlight her feelings on a number of strange topics worrying fans. Then, there were the entanglements with the law.

Now, it appears that the former child actress is poised for a serious comeback after an in-depth interview in Paper Magazine. Read on for the most in-depth look at the complete Amanda Bynes breakdown to comeback!

Amanda was seven when she started taking comedy classes for kids at the famed Comedy Store in Hollywood. Among the famous folks who taught her classes—Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor. That was where she was discovered after just two years of classes.

The kiddie sketch comedy series All That found Amanda making her big debut on TV, reaching hundreds of millions of people. In 1996, Amanda was hired to join the cast, and in the 3rd season, she broke big playing a variety of characters in what some have described as SNL for kids. She was adorable. She was talented. It firmly put her on the pop culture map. The Nickelodeon program truly “made” her.

Amanda was given her own show on the Nickelodeon family of channels in 1999 that aired on the Nick Teen network. The Amanda Show further pushed Amanda into the spotlight as she scored three straight Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards for Favorite TV Actress. The Amanda Show also served as the locale where she would meet her first boyfriend, Taran Killam, (who went on to become a regular on SNL).

Amanda truly made it to the big time when she leapt to the silver screen alongside another TV child actor, Malcolm in the Middle’s Frankie Muniz. The pair starred in Big Fat Liar, which went on to score an impressive box office haul of $48 million. Amanda was now a movie star.

The young actress made a huge mark when she moved from the Nick world to the major networks (yes, the WB was a major network then!) with her appearance opposite Jennie Garth in the 4 season run of What I Like About You.

What a Girl Wants firmly put Amanda on the Hollywood A-list as the comedy featured her starring opposite cinematic heavyweight and future Oscar winner Colin Firth. The film’s box office surpassed her first film with its $50.7 million.

She’s the Man landed in 2006 and sent Amanda into the stratosphere. The film also introduced the world to Channing Tatum. The comedy found the starlet dressing as a boy so that she could play soccer at her school. It struck a chord with audiences and some say it was ahead of its time speaking to the societal disadvantages for women. For most, it was simply a fun, comedic joyride that one could argue found Amanda in her Hollywood prime.

Hairspray was a cult hit movie from offbeat director John Waters that became a sensation when it was elevated to a film musical in 2007. Amanda sang for her supper in the supporting role as the innocent and wide-eyed Penny Lou Pingleton. The flick was a bona fide blockbuster, scoring $118 million at the American box office. It also featured Amanda starring alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names including John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Queen Latifah, Allison Janney and (sigh) Zac Efron.

While tackling a supporting role in Easy A, Amanda had a front row seat to the breakthrough role for future Oscar winner Emma Stone. Portraying the ultra-religious Marianne Bryant, Amanda's role was integral to the storyline. Emma’s main character goes through a metamorphosis from average teen to alleged class hussy. Amanda and Emma made sweet comedic music in the instant classic.

Amanda was pulled over for driving while talking on a cell phone—an act that had only recently been made illegal in California. Know what Amanda did? After being pulled over, she allegedly sped away before the officer returned with the ticket! She cooled off and later went to the local police station to accept her infraction. Needless to say, this moment would serve as another spoke in the wheel that was her downward turn. Not the most shocking celebrity arrests but it was the beginning of the descent for Amanda.

The young actress was arrested for a DUI in West Hollywood in the most notorious of ways. She attempted to swerve around a police car and wound up sideswiping the officer’s vehicle. Amanda was pulled over immediately. They discovered that she was drunk—too drunk to drive. Amanda wound up spending the night in jail before being released the next morning. That squeaky-clean image was quickly departing … but it would get worse.

Taking to Twitter Amanda shocked her massive following when she appeared to be utterly wasted in a blonde wig. That’s no big deal, really. But further tweets of note included calling Jay-Z, “ugly face.” Her eyes were bloodshot and her general demeanor appeared slightly off-kilter. Fans were immediately concerned.

Her tweet to music star Drake made national headlines and had many questioning “what on earth is going on with Amanda Bynes?” What was the big deal? Well, she had asked Drake to “murder her vagina.” Umm …

Amanda had slowly but surely been evading and eluding the spotlight for the better part of three years at this point. She had gotten her cheeks pierced, her appearance appeared altered (plastic surgery?) and she took to Twitter to tell the world that pictures of her walking around in Manhattan were not her—even though the person had the same facial piercings as her and wore clothes that she had previously been spotted in. It kept getting more bizarre. She closed out the month by going on social media to show the world that she shaved her hair off. Like, all of it. Amanda seemed to be mirroring that Britney Spears meltdown at this point, right? That’s got to be a required stage of a celebrity meltdown, shaving one’s head!

In the early days of summer 2013, Amanda was taken into custody in New York City and arrested for marijuana possession, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence. Recall why? She threw a bong out the window when police entered her apartment. Imagine getting hit in the head by that sucker? Amanda was taken to a psychiatric hospital because the arresting officers questioned her behavior and believed she needed help, plus she appeared to be on Adderall. Making matters worse, she took to Twitter and informed the world that she is “allergic to marijuana and alcohol.” She also announced that she was planning on getting a nose job and becoming a rapper.

Clearly Amanda failed to listen to her attorney's instructions to dress up for court to impress the judge. Instead, the actress showed up for a hearing on those bong-out-the-window charges in a blue wig.

Another month so another issue with the law for Amanda. She was arrested for using a container filled with gas to start a fire in a neighbor’s driveway. Sadly, Amanda accidentally burned her dog during the incident. The pup was OK, but the master was not. Amanda was put on a 5150-involuntary psych hold. It would be extended for an additional 30 days before she was released to the care of her parents. A Britney-like conservatorship over Amanda’s affairs was also established. It may have saved her life.

Amanda sat down with Hollyscoop’s, Diana Madison, on June 9, 2017—her first interview in four years. It wasn’t the longest chat yet informative just the same. She talked a bit about her past, but the headline here is how good she looked. She appeared healthy, happy and generally mirrored the girl that America first fell in love with almost 20 years before.

Amanda did her first full magazine interview in years with the December issue of Paper Magazine. From all accounts, it appeared that the talented star was doing well and ready for a major comeback. She is sober and blames years of bizarre behavior on drugs (such as marijuana and Adderall). Amanda also apologized to anyone she may have hurt in the article. She also admitted that seeing herself on screen did nothing to help her deteriorating body image. It sent her into a spiral of depression where she used drugs and alcohol to numb the pain. “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. It makes me feel so horrible and sick to my stomach and sad,” she told the mag. “Everything I worked my whole life to achieve, I kind of ruined it all through Twitter. It’s definitely not Twitter’s fault—it’s my own fault.”

The Easy A actress checked herself into a sober living facility in January 2019 after being sober for quite some time, but in early March, OK! reported the troubled former child star checked into rehab after a stress-induced relapse. Although she later completed her treatment and was released after a relatively short stay, in June 2019, she was sued for lack of payment on her $2,467 bill. Later, in December of that year, she abruptly moved out of the sober house, and her whereabouts were unknown for some time.

Ready to tie the knot! Bynes took to Instagram to announce the happy news that she was engaged after only a few months of dating. Not much was known about her fiancé at the time, but it was later revealed his name is Paul Michael. The lovebirds met in an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in 2019 and fell head over heels for each other.

Bynes petitioned to end her lengthy conservatorship ship on Wednesday, February 23, after nearly nine years. The Nickelodeon star not only received approval from her legal team, but also from her parents, and a month later, a judge ruled that her conservatorship would be terminated.