Amanda Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks, California to Rick Bynes, a dentist who also practiced stand-up comedy, and Lynn Organ, a dental assistant. She has two older siblings, Tommy, a chiropractor, and Jillian, who has a B.A. in history from UCLA. Bynes' father is Catholic and her mother is Jewish, and Bynes has referred to herself as Jewish.[6]
Career
Bynes was trained as an actress by Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor at a comedy camp, and began professionally acting at the age of seven, appearing in a television advertisement for Buncha Crunch candies. During her childhood, she also appeared on stage in versions of Annie, The Secret Garden, The Music Man and The Sound of Music.[7] After taking acting classes, Bynes became a regular cast member of Nickelodeon's Figure It Out and All That (both in 1996) and later became the star of The Amanda Show, also on Nickelodeon. The Amanda Show features a combination of comical skits and sketches, including Amanda Bynes playing Judge Trudy, a judge that always rules in kids' favor, and Penelope Taynt, an Amanda-obsessed fan.
Bynes made her film debut in 2002's mild box office success, Big Fat Liar, where she played opposite Frankie Muniz. Her first solo leading role was in 2003's What a Girl Wants, with co-star Oliver James. Subsequently, Bynes starred in the WB Network's sitcom What I Like About You and had voice parts in 2003's Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure and 2005's CGI animated comedy, Robots. She also co-starred in an episode of The Nightmare Room as Danielle Warner, and in Arliss as Crystal Dupree.
Bynes appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's July 2003 edition with nine of Hollywood's most popular female young stars, including Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Alexis Bledel, Raven-Symone, Evan Rachel Wood, the Olsen Twins, and Mandy Moore. Although she is often compared with them, Bynes has commented that "It's like being the hot girl at the high school party. I was never that girl. I grew up with terrible acne and feeling insecure. I was tall and skinny. I didn't feel pretty at all, and guys didn't even like me. That's why I got into comedy."[8] Bynes has also said that her relatability to teenage audiences may stem from the fact that she is "more similar to them than some... socialite or whatever".
Her most recently released film is She's the Man, a comedy based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In the film, which opened in March 2006, Bynes disguises herself as her brother in order to join the boys' soccer team due to the fall of the girls' team. Producers had originally wanted to cast singer Jesse McCartney as Bynes' brother, noting a physical resemblance between McCartney and Bynes disguised as a boy, but McCartney was unavailable.[9] Around the time of the film's release, Bynes commented that she would like to start appearing in more mature roles, and believes that she is still developing her acting skills and maturing as an actress, saying that she is "getting better" with each role.
Bynes has completed filming on another romantic comedy, Lovewrecked, which was shot before She's the Man but released after it, showing in non-US cinemas in 2005 and 2006 and debuting in the United States on the ABC Family network on January 21, 2007. She has also been cast as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, a new film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. Hairspray began filming in Toronto in September 2006. It will be released in the Summer of 2007 on July 27th.
Bynes has recently completed work on another comedy due for a Fall 2007 release, Sydney White. The comedy is a coming of age story based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Amanda plays the part of a newbie freshman in the college greek system. She will co-star alongside Sara Paxton and Matt Long. It was filmed in Orlando, Florida at Rollins College and the University of Central Florida.
Personal life
Bynes, who has a dog named Midge and drives a white Lexus SC430, graduated from Thousand Oaks High School's independent study program and has expressed a desire to attend New York University in the near future. She briefly moved into an apartment in Hollywood, California, but has since returned to her family home. She also wears contact lenses.
Bynes is interested in drawing (she once painted a portrait of David Letterman as a gift to him) and fashion design, having commented that she is "the girl whose biggest nightmare would be to lose my makeup bag while traveling".
