Following the release of ID’s Quiet on Set documentary, many are now wondering what happened to Amanda Bynes after her famed Nickelodeon days.
The former child star started her acting career in the late ‘90s. According to CBS News, she was discovered by Nickelodeon producers Brian Robbins and Dan Schnieder. Bynes described the meeting as a “kids comedy camp.”
“They picked like 10 kids out of 30 to do this graduation night,” Amanda Bynes explained in 2001. “And we would do our act – our comedy act. And then Brian Robbins and Dan Schneider found me there and they asked me if I wanted to audition. it was kind of like [it was] meant to be. It was fate.”
She first appeared on Nickelodeon’s all-kids sketch show All That. Eventually, the kid’s network announced the All That spin, The Amanda Show.
Among those who appeared on the show with Bynes were fellow child stars Josh Peck, Drake Bell. Jamie Snow, and Jenna Morrison. The show ran from 1999 to 2002.
After her sketch show ended, Amanda went on to do various films, such as What a Girl Wants, Big Fat Liar, Hairspray, and She’s the Man. She also played the lead to Schneider’s WB sitcom What I Like About You from 2002 to 2006.
However, after the release of her 2010 film Easy A, Amanda Bynes said she was done with acting. “I don’t love acting anymore so I’ve stopped doing it,” she tweeted, per USA Today.
What Happened to Amanda Bynes Next? She Experienced a Mental Breakdown
Nearly two years after she quit acting, Amanda Bynes began to experience some legal woes. She was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence when she hit a police car.
Days later, Bynes was involved in a hit-and-run. Her licenese was eventually revoked and she was charged with two misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run. After getting cited for drivinv with a suspended license, her vehicle was impounded.
In spring of 2013, Amanda Bynes made headlines over throwing a glass bong out of her apartment window. She was also caught smoking marijuana in the apartment building’s lobby.
That same year, Bynes was put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold after she started a fire on a driveway in Thousand Oaks, Calif. She was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Following the psychiatric hold, Amanda’s mother was granted a conversatorship.
Months into recovery and improvement, Amanda experienced another set back. She had a meltdown on Twitter which included her threatening to sue tabloids. In the middle of the rant, the former actress said she was engaged to her boyfriend, Caleb. However, the relationship doesn’t last long after that.
Things turned around for her after that. She started at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles.
After years of being out of the spotlight, Amanda Bynes’ conversatorship ended.
After The Conservatorship Ended, Amanda Bynes Was Arrested
Unfortunately, a little over a year after her nine-year conservatorship ended in 2022, Amanda Bynes was arrested in Los Angeles.
TMZ reported in July 2023 that the All That alum was arrested and placed on a 5150 hold after she was seen walking naked in Los Angeles. She had called the authorities on herself. Reports say that she was in significant distress. By law, she was placed in the hold for 72 hours.
Months after the ordeal, Bynes announced her new podcast, Amanda Bynes & Paul Sieminski: The Podcast. however, after one epsiode, Bynes decided she didn’t want to be part of it.
“So even though the podcast is doing really well and the response has been great, I am going to take a pause on it for now,” Bynes said in a TikTok post, per E! News. “We’re not able to get the type of guests that I’d like on the show, say like Jack Harlow, or Drake, or Post Malone, so maybe one day if we’re able to get those types of guests we will resume the podcast. But for now I’m taking a pause on it.”
Bynes also revealed what she really wants to do instead. “After thinking about it, thought, I would rather get my manicurist license and have a consistent job,” Bynes stated in her Instagram Story. “I’m going to follow that path instead. Thank you for following my journey!”
Bynes previously spoke about being a manicurist in 2022 and said she was in cosmetology school studying nail art.