At this point, the potential pitfalls of childhood stardom are legion in Hollywood. For every seemingly well-adjusted A-lister like Justin Timberlake or Dakota Fanning, there are just as many Drew Barrymores, Britney Spears’ and Michael Jacksons who struggle to make the transition from cute kid global adoration to awkward teen and adult.
The latest example is troubled actress Amanda Bynes, 27, whose career began with commercial work at age seven and took her through stage musicals and starring roles in the Nickelodeon shows “Figure It Out,” “All That” and “The Amanda Show” in the mid- and late-1990’s. But after a solid run in TV and films (“What a Girl Wants,” “Robots,” “Easy A”), Bynes hit a rough patch that took her through citations for DUI, hit-and-run, marijuana possession and, last month, an involuntary psychiatric hold after she reportedly set a fire on a stranger’s driveway.
As we await word on what is next for Bynes — who’s involuntary hold has been extended to 30 days — MTV News looks back at the rough patch that led up to the actress’ latest legal entanglement.
Summer 2010: After changing up her until-then family-friendly image and appearing in lingerie in Maxim magazine in February, Bynes announces in June that she is retiring from acting. “I don’t love acting anymore, so I’ve stopped doing it,” she tweeted. Though she changed her mind a short time later and unretired, Bynes’ vow to take some time off has lasted for three years.
March 2012: Following a long radio silence broken by the occasional tweet, Bynes debuts her new light purple hairdo alongside a tweet of the M.I.A. lyric, “Live fast die young/Bad girls do it well.” The next day, she drove away form the scene of a police stop after an LAPD officer stopped her for talking on her phone.
Take A Look At Amanda Bynes: Then And Now.
April 6, 2012: Arrested on a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence after getting into a minor fender bender with a cop car around 3 a.m. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Bynes tried to pass a police car when she rear-ended the cruiser. She reportedly refused a Breathalyzer or blood alcohol test at the time.
April 9, 2012: Father Rick Bynes tells People magazine that his daughter was not drunk and that she “doesn’t drink.” He blamed her seemingly intoxicated behavior on her being “upset and very emotional” about being arrested.
April 10, 2012: TMZ reported that Bynes smashed her rental car into another vehicle on an L.A. freeway and then fled the scene. May 27, 2012: Denies the DUI allegations on Twitter, writing, “I can’t help but laugh at all of you writing fake stories about me. I was not in any hit and runs. I don’t drink so the DUI is false.”
June 6, 2012: Attorney for Bynes enters a not guilty plea on her behalf for the April DUI arrest. Bynes tweets out a plea to President Obama for help with her legal troubles. “Hey @BarackObama … I don’t drink. Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don’t hit and run. The end.”
August 4, 2012: Motorist reports that Bynes rear-ended her vehicle on Ventura Boulevard, stopped briefly, claimed there was no damage and drove off. Woman claims $800 in damage and that Bynes did not provide proof of insurance or wait for police to be called before driving off.
September 13, 2012: TMZ posts images of Bynes smoking what looks like a marijuana pipe in her car before driving around aimlessly in L.A. for hours on a suspended license.
Read Everything We Know So Far About The Incident That Sent Bynes To The Hospital.
September 16, 2012: After being ordered by a judge not to drive, Bynes is stopped and cited for driving with a suspended license. Police impound her car and write a misdemeanor citation after observing her parking in a no-parking zone and driving around aimlessly near the valet area.
September 17, 2012: TMZ reports that Bynes locked herself in the dressing room of a West Hollywood clothing store for two hours. September 18, 2012: Bynes reportedly kicked out of a Hollywood gym spinning class for wearing lingerie and acting erratically. Bynes locks herself in the bathroom of a cupcake shop in New York 10 days later.
November 2012: She threatens to sue InTouch magazine for a story alleging she walked around a New York tanning salon naked save for a pair of goggles. “I’m not ‘troubled,'” she said at the time. “I don’t get naked in public. I’m 26, a multimillionaire, retired. Please respect my privacy.”
February 2013: Bynes posts the first of a slew of tweets in which she calls people “ugly,” starting with Jay Z, and later including Drake, Zac Efron, Jenny McCarthy, President Obama and the first lady, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Lance Bass and Courtney Love. A month later, she tweets that she wants Drizzy to, “Murder my vagina.”
April 2013: After a series of selfies in various wigs, Bynes reveals that she has an eating disorder and demands that magazines only use photos she has uploaded when writing about her. Other reports claim that she was kicked out of a gymnastics class after talking to herself and crying and that she is photographed walking in public with what appears to be a joint in her mouth. She also tweets pictures of her partially shaved head, tells followers she no longer speaks to her parents and uploads images of her topless and just wearing a black bra.
May 2013 She’s arrested in New York after reportedly throwing a glass bong out of her apartment window and smoking marijuana in the building’s lobby. Bynes claims the bong was and denies that she was taken in for a psychiatric evaluation, appearing in court looking disheveled in an ill-fitting blonde wig, sweatshirt and sweatpants. Bynes later threatens to sue the NYPD after claiming she was sexually harassed by arresting officers.
After the arrest she lashes out via Twitter at Rihanna for being “not pretty enough” and writes that she’s allergic to marijuana and alcohol, is getting a nose job and prepping a career as a rapper. Beefs ensue with Courtney Love and the NYPD announces that no evidence can be found to support Bynes’ sexual harassment claims.
July 9, 2013: Bynes arrives in court for a bong-tossing hearing wearing a blue-tinged wig and is reportedly videotaped a day later walking with an odd gait down 58th street in her platinum wig. July 22, 2013: Bynes put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold after reportedly starting a fire on a random stranger’s driveway in Thousand Oaks, California, near her childhood home. She was also reportedly asked to leave a nearby retirement community the day before after management accused her of being drunk and trespassing.
August 9, 2013: A Los Angeles judge agrees to extend Bynes’ involuntary psych hold to 30 days and her parents are granted a temporary conservatorship allowing them to take control of her affairs.
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