Ever since her Nickelodeon days, Amanda Bynes has been a household name! The California native made her debut on the All That stage in 1996 and the rest, as they say, is history.

“It was a dream come true,” the actress told Paper magazine in 2018 about nabbing her role on the sketch-comedy series. “It was unbelievable for me.”

After her All That days were over, the former child star got her own show on the network, aptly named The Amanda Show. Amanda immediately skyrocketed to stardom after she was front and center during classic skits like “Judge Trudy” (no one will ever forget the dancing lobsters), “The Girls’ Room” and “Moody’s Point.”

Once her time on the kids’ network was over, she continued her stint as a TV star on What I Like About You, which aired from 2002 until 2006. Then, the comedian booked starring roles in movies like She’s the Man, Sydney White and the always iconic Hairspray, which she told Paper was “the most amazing experience I’ve ever had on a set.”

After Easy A premiered in 2010, Amanda took to Twitter and announced her retirement from acting. “Being an actress isn’t as fun as it may seem,” she wrote at the time. “I know 24 is a young age to retire, but you heard it here first: I’ve retired.”

She reflected on this moment during her Paper magazine interview and explained, “It was really foolish and I see that now. I was young and stupid.”

In 2012, Amanda faced a series of legal troubles, and in 2013, she was hospitalized after an incident in California. The Nickelodeon alum was released from rebab in December of that year. At the time, she also made headlines for several concerning tweets.

“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,” she told Paper about her past. “It makes me feel so horrible and sick to my stomach and sad. 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.”

Years later, in June 2019, Amanda graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, months after Us Weekly confirmed in January that she was seeking treatment again.

After returning to Instagram, Amanda announced in February 2020 that she was engaged to Paul Michael. After a short split, that March, the pair reconciled in May 2020. According to Instagram posts shared by Paul in January 2021, the couple appears to still be going strong!

Click through our gallery to see Amanda’s complete transformation over the years. 

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