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This past September TMZ reported, a judge signed off on maintaining a conservatorship for actress Amanda Bynes, extended for at least another 15 months. Bynes’ mother has served as her conservator since 2013 after a series of mental health episodes.
She announced her retirement from acting in 2010 and has remained low-key for the past decade. However, Bynes hasn’t remained stagnant. She attended rehab, met her finance, Paul Michael at a sober living home in 2019 and graduated from California’s Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising according to The Things.
Bynes has even posted her debut rap called “Diamonds” to her Instagram and YouTube channel. Though she released a teaser, the song hasn’t made it to a streaming platform to date. In the meantime, Bynes’ lawyer has reported she’s living by the beach, is continuing her education and is in a better place both mentally and physically than she’s been in the past few years.
Also according to her lawyer, Bynes is looking into creating a perfume as well as a clothing line as a result of her education. With dreams of creating her own fashion line and re-entering Hollywood, she’s got a pretty good resume to her name already. Known for her Nickelodeon comedy show, All That, Bynes went on to appear in several hits, showing she has what it takes to accomplish anything she sets her mind to.
Here’s Bynes most profitable films to date.
She’s The Man – $34 Million
Based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Bynes starred as Viola Hasting in the 2006 release, as a sports-loving teenager who disguises herself as her twin brother to join the boys’ soccer team. She then falls in love with one of the players (newcomer Channing Tatum). The romantic comedy may have not been the highest grossing film Bynes can add to her list but set the tone for several of her popular teen dramas. She’s shared with several in the past, how the film began affecting her self-esteem and seeing herself dressed as a boy, ended up launching her into a six-month depression, just a precursor to the young woman’s future mental heath struggles.
What A Girl Wants – $36 Million
Bynes stars as a young American girl who learns that her estranged father is running for Prime Minister in London. Her character, Daphne Reynolds arrives overseas and rocks a once-pretentious father’s political aspirations and entire world. Released in 2003, the now, 35-year-old was just 17 when she took the lead role.
Big Fat Liar – $47.8 Million
Her debut film put Bynes in the spotlight, alongside another child star, Frankie Muniz. The family comedy was released in 2002 and followed Bynes’ 14-year-old best friend, Jason Shephard (Muniz), whose creative writing assignment is stolen by a Hollywood screenwriter (Paul Giamatti). The problem is, the friend is a pathological liar and hilarity ensues as the two team up to defeat the lying Hollywood writer, according to Celebrity Toob.
Easy A – $54.4 Million
It’s become a cult classic. Fans love the teen comedy which casts Bynes opposite Emma Stone. She plays a devout Christian mean girl in a coming-of-age story as Stone’s character learns about telling the truth to save her reputation. Bynes told IndieWire back in 2018, it was 'Easy' A that convinced her, it was time to walk away from acting. Even though she gained strong and positive reviews from her performance, Bynes said, she didn’t care for her appearance, prompting the start of her mental health decline. Easy A is her last feature film to date.
Hairspray – $119 Million
The popular film adaptation to the 2002 Broadway musical was released in 2007 and starred John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Zac Efron, and more. The film is perhaps the one Bynes is most well-known for, as Penny Lou Pingleton. Set in the 1960s, Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) pursues stardom on a local television show. Her best friend, Bynes’ character shares scenes while falling in love with an African American teen against her parents’ wishes and participates in the numerous song and dance numbers that kept audiences coming back for more. Hairspray became the tenth highest grossing musical film in US cinema history and is one of the most critically and commercially successful musicals of the 2000s.
Robots – $128 Million
If you missed the Blue Sky Studios animated film about the adventurous lives of robots, it’s worth the watch. Ewan McGregor voices the lead character Rodney, as he travels to the big city in chase of his dreams and along the way he meets a group of friends that have his back. Bynes voices the character Piper Pinwheeler, a young, pig-tailed robot with a crush on Rodney. Bynes has leant her voice to several other animated television shows, including episodes on Family Guy, Rugrats, and Charlotte’s Web 2.
Sources: TMZ, The Things, Celebrity Toob, IndieWire