What happened to 90s star Amanda Bynes after leaving Hollywood as she announces comeback

Warning: This article contains discussion of drug use which some readers may find distressing.

In the '90s and early 2000s, Amanda Bynes was a Hollywood star, featuring in major films and shows like Big Fat Liar, What a Girl Wants and Nickelodeon's The Amanda Show and All That.

But after a successful run, and aged just 24, she announced her retirement from acting in 2010.

Over the years, she has publicly struggled with mental health and substance abuse, having spoken out openly about her difficulties herself on a number of occasions. Her last on-screen role was 2010’s Easy A.

She's had a variety of gigs since those days as an actor, having graduated from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in 2019, trying out podcasting and seeking out her manicurist license.

But now the 40-year-old has shared a teaser video to her Instagram appearing to give a snapshot into an unreleased rap song.

Discussing her stepping back from the limelight, Bynes told Paper Magazine in 2018 that she was 'ashamed and embarrassed' by rants on Twitter, and that she would 'turn back time' if she could.

In many of the viral posts she criticised fellow celebrities, the media and her own family. Her legal problems also resulted in her parents being granted conservatorship of her from 2013 to 2022.

She has been open about her use of drugs too, admitting in earlier interviews that her drug use started with marijuana as a teenager, before she started taking Adderall, a medicine used to treat people with ADHD.

Reflecting on her past struggles, she previously said: "When I was doing [2011 film] Hall Pass, I remember being in the trailer and I used to chew the Adderall tablets because I thought they made me [more] high [that way].

"I remember chewing on a bunch of them and literally being scatterbrained and not being able to focus on my lines or memorise them for that matter.

"I got really into my drug usage and it became a really dark, sad world for me."

Bynes had multiple documented run-ins with police between 2010 and 2014, which led to the conservatorship, which her family were in control of.

This was terminated in 2022 after her attorney stated they Bynes felt her condition was improved and protection of the court was no longer necessary.

With over 700,000 followers, Amanda is continuing to share life updates to her fans on social media and has now teased a move into music.

She last appeared on a song titled 'Girlfriend' in 2026 with Zabba and Fenix Flexin, and before that two tracks in 2022 with then-partner Paul Michael.

In the post on Instagram on Monday (26 October), she wrote: "Get hyphy bc trap house is coming soon gang" along with a clip teasing 'coming soon'.

The video previewed the song, which is also credited as featuring Zabba and Lil Dexx. She hasn’t indicated exactly when the song is expected to drop, but appeared to indicate a step into the trap house genre.