It was 1994 when a bright eyed seven-year-old by the name of Amanda Bynes was ‘spotted’.
Bynes was at a Los Angeles children’s comedy camp that her parents – Rick, a former dentist, and Lynn, a retired office manager – enrolled her in. It was the platform that would launch Bynes, the youngest of three children, to breakout jobs on Nickelodeon before she had even hit high school.
Within years, her own children’s comedy program The Amanda Show was the network’s most successful offering. She would go on to win the “Favourite Television Actress” gong at the Kids’ Choice Awards four years in a row.
She was, for a time, the world’s most glittering and adored child star.
In 2002, The New York Times praised Bynes’ “gift for physical comedy” and “fearlessness in front of live studio audiences”. Then 16, writer David Hochman observed Bynes “literally grew up on Nickelodeon”.
”I’ve seen kids in her position experiment with drugs and be too promiscuous, but Amanda has avoided all of that,” Dan Schneider, one of Bynes’ regular producers told Hochman at the time.
“My wife, who knows her, says she’s almost like Marcia Brady in that she’s so clean-cut and wholesome,” Schneider commented, alongside Hochman’s descriptions of Bynes’ perfect “big night” (it “usually revolves around a rented video and microwave popcorn”).
Top Comments
Illicit drugs can cause schizophrenia.
Incorrect. The current thinking is that certain drugs may trigger a disposition to schizophrenia that predates the drugs - kind of like setting off a tripwire. Without the predisposition, the mental illness would not manifest in the setting of drug use.
What you might be conflating is the fact that illicit drugs can cause psychosis, which is just one symptom seen in illnesses like schizophrenia. Psychosis is a symptom, not a disease in its own right - and drug-related symptoms tend to disappear after the drug is out of the system.
Secondly, many people with mental illnesses have intercurrent drug addictions that are secondary to the primary mental illness. It's important to understand that this represents a complex diagnosis and an even more complex recovery (if ever). It is not a simple case of going to rehab for a few weeks and getting better for even one of these issues - let alone two.
"It is, hopefully, a sign that Bynes has escaped the demons that have plagued our most beloved child stars."
If she has a mental illness like schizophrenia - which many speculate she has - this is not a "demon" that can be neatly "escaped". She should be afforded dignity and privacy, and not have the complexity of a chronic illness oversimplified.
Hi Guest,
In demons I was referring to the drug addiction that she went to rehabilitation for. I understand that mental illness is entirely different, which is why I mentioned the importance of network of people supporting her.
However, complete recovery from mental illness is also possible, and I believe it's important that we discuss the possibility that, in many cases, mental illness is treatable and impermanent. Hopefully Amanda Bynes is one of those cases.
As for affording Amanda privacy, as the final paragraphs state, she is planning to become an actress again. Publicity will follow where she courts it. My reason for writing the piece is to show her journey, and observe that it is good she has spent four years out of the public eye to recover and figure out exactly what she wants her life to look like, whether that be as a celebrity or a private person. It has been a gentle rise back up, and I think that's a good thing.
Michelle xx
With respect Michelle, I believe you have over-simplified the issue by sweeping the mental health issue to one side. As a medical practitioner, I would say that although some chronic mental illnesses can be managed, they are often not "cured" or associated with complete and/or lasting remissions. They not uncommonly create permanent disability. It's nice to hope for the best, but given the lengthy absence of Bynes from the public eye, it is perhaps optimistic to assume she's been so lucky.
As a journalist, you should also be careful about implying she is "courting" publicity. She was apparently "courting" attention in the same way on social media in the months before she was taken under legal custody. Unless you are privy to all the facts if her legal and private life, you have no way of knowing whether she is slipping in the same way again - the "gentle rise" into the public eye may not be in her best interests at all. Mental health orders are not permanent, and recurrences are sadly not uncommon. Restoration of fame is not always a good idea - it's still really early days in a mental health context.
Someone who actually understands severe complex mental illness 🙌 it is not something you can easily "escape" from and it is likely going to be an ongoing condition for her. It is not a psychological issue, it is a psychiatric disease. Much like type 1 diabetes, or asthma, etc. The media needs to show some responsibility and realise that writing endless irresponsible junk articles about someone like this who is so vulnerable and with a severe mental illness is extremely harmful. This article is not that, but the condition is definitely not something that will simply disappear.
Ps again this article is ok...but some more knowledge and points about schizophrenia would be helpful.
Michelle, I really think with medical terms, references, information & advice you need to consult a professional! Especially when you claim that a mental illness like schizophrenia is "impermanent".