Amanda Bynes

Amanda Bynes on poster of What a Girl Wants (2003)

Amanda Bynes
Born
April 3, 1986 Thousand Oaks, California, USA
Occupation
Actress, Comedian

Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress and former show host on Nickelodeon. After appearing in several successful television series on Nickelodeon in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bynes has moved into a film career, starring in several films aimed at teenage audiences, including her latest, She's the Man, and her upcoming role in a remake of Hairspray.

Bynes has been described as having an "Everygirl" appeal, embodying "both everything her teen fans dream of being and everything they know they really are, and they love her for it." In 2006, she was named one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25".

Biography

Early life

Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks, California to Richard 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 psychology from UCLA. Bynes grew up "half Catholic and half Jewish" and identifies herself as Jewish.The Jimmy Kimmel Show (March 7, 2006)

Career

Bynes, who was trained as an actress by Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor at a comedy camp, began acting at seven, appearing in a television advertisement for Buncha Crunch candies. After taking acting classes, she joined as a regular cast member of the show All That in 1996 and later became the star of The Amanda Show, both featured on the Nickelodeon channel. 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, which also performed fairly at the box office with her co-star Oliver James. Subsequently, Bynes starred in the WB Network's sitcom What I Like About You and had a voice part in 2005's CGI animated comedy, Robots.

Bynes appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's July 2003 edition with Hollywood's nine most popular female young stars, including Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, 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." 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 an elite boarding school. 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.

Bynes has completed filming on another romantic comedy Lovewrecked, which was shot before She's the Man but will be released after it, at some point in 2006. She was also recently cast as Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, a new film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name.

Bynes has commented that she wishes 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" as she matures.

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.

Bynes is interested in drawing (she once painted a portrait of David Letterman as a gift to him) and fashion design, having commented that "I'm the girl whose biggest nightmare would be to lose my makeup bag while traveling".

Selected filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	Hairspray	Penny Pingleton
2006	Lovewrecked	Jenny Riley
2006	She's the Man	Viola Hastings
2005	Robots	Piper Pinwheeler	voice only
2003	What a Girl Wants	Daphne Reynolds
2002	Big Fat Liar	Kaylee

References

Footnotes

Interviews

Amanda Bynes Blossoming into Major Star (2006)
ElleGirl interview (2005)
Dark Horizons interview (March 7, 2005)
Filmmonthly interview (March 6, 2005)
BBC Films interview (July 16, 2003)
About.com interview (April, 2003)
BlackFilm interview (April, 2003)
Girls' Life interview (October-November 2002)
collection of interviews at Amanda Bynes.cc
Amanda Bynesnow.com press

Web sites

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