Throughout the 2000 decade, millions of kids and teens were overjoyed with the talents of Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bynes, their good sense of humor, and everything which was expected from two of the greatest child stars of their time. Nevertheless, both actresses’ real-life issues were a far cry from the perfect happy endings portrayed in their work, leading both of them to go through disheartening situations which not only affected their careers but their mental health too.
While it’s undeniable that the media and general public have scrutinized Lindsay and Amanda’s troubled personal issues endlessly for years, their troubled situations have also started an always-necessary debate about the well-being of children in the entertainment industry.
So what exactly caused Lindsay and Amanda to go down such an ominous path, and how much did it affect their careers? Stay with us to know more about it!
Contents
Before Lindsay’s Downfall
The early years of Lindsay Lohan in the entertainment industry were what most people could only dream of. Her beginnings as an actress and child model go back to 1989, when she started appearing in TV commercials when only three years old, not taking her long before rising up from there. Lindsay made it big when she was cast by Disney in “The Parent Trap” at 12 years old, putting herself on everyone’s radar, while also taking the first steps into becoming one of the most brilliant child stars of her era.
However, life took a downturn for Lindsay before her career as an adult actress could take off. In 2005 Lindsy’s second album “A Little More Personal (Raw)” revealed that she was experiencing severe family difficulties related to her father’s legal problems.
Not long after turning 21 years old in 2007, Lindsay’s active social life attracted the media’s attention, which eagerly reported her constant escapades in Los Angeles nightclubs, successfully changing her reputation to one of a party girl, while at the same time her acting career had been experiencing several setbacks.
Before Amanda’s Downfall
On the other hand, there’s Amanda Bynes, whose breakthrough as a Nickelodeon star was preceded by her participation in several TV commercials, and vast experience as a theater child actress. It wasn’t until she was discovered at a comedy camp by TV producers that she went on to star in several successful Nick series, such as “All That” and “The Amanda Show”, before making her big screen debut in the comedy film “Big Fat Liar”.
By the late 2000s, Amanda had successfully built a career as a young adult actress, by starring in movies such as “Hairspray”, “She’s The Man” and “Easy A”, but her personal life was on a downfall at the same time.
As it happened, Amanda wanted to become emancipated from her parents when she was 16 years old, and sought legal advice for it. This led to a feud between Amanda and her parents, though it’s reported that it was her father Rick with whom she was on the worst terms. Also, Amanda reportedly sought help from her then-boss Dan Schneider, who produced most of the shows she was in, but in the end, she didn’t emancipate.
Fast forward to 2010, when Amanda retired from acting after claiming it wasn’t ‘fun’ anymore. Nonetheless, her more gruesome personal problems were yet to happen.
Legal Issues & Addictions
The late 2000s and early 2010s saw Lindsay Lohan and Amanda Bytes fall through an unfortunate and repeated set of misfortunes, both on the personal and professional aspects. In 2006, Lindsay confessed to Vanity Fair she had consumed drugs and suffered from bulimia, on top of dealing with other serious health issues.
Things didn’t get better after that, though. In mid-2007, Lindsay was arrested for the first time for driving under the influence, leading her to publicly admit her drug and alcohol addiction, before entering rehab.
Around that time, the media reported on her ‘unemployable’, status due to producers’ reluctance to work with her due to her addictions and rumored difficulties at adjusting to on-set standards. By 2012, Lindsay had sadly experienced several setbacks, and had been arrested numerous times for driving under the influence, breaking probation, and stealing a necklace.
That same year, Amanda Bynes was arrested for the first time for driving under the influence, and was arrested again the next year for smoking marijuana in her apartment’s lobby, on top of setting fire to a person’s driveway in a separate incident.
In December 2013 she was released from the rehabilitation program she was put on after the arson incident, with the media reporting that she’d grown closer to her family as her treatment took its course. Also that year, her parents obtained conservatorship over her.
As Amanda later revealed to Paper Magazine, she started consuming marijuana when she was 16 years old, but her drug consumption didn’t turn into a problem until the late 2000s, when she developed an Adderall addiction.
Recovery & Aftermath
Following the beginning of her conservatorship in 2013, Amanda Bynes began her path to recovery, but not without issues. She suffered several public breakdowns which she documented on Twitter (now X), during which she accused her father of sexual abuse, and revealed that she suffered from bipolar disorder, and manic depression on top of being denied access to her funds. However, most of these allegations are doubtful, given that Amanda told Paper Magazine in 2018 that she regretted using Twitter the way she did, as it had ‘ruined her life’.
It was also in that 2018 interview that Amanda proudly revealed she had been sober for four years. Though she suffered a setback the next year which landed her in rehab, she also went on to graduate that year from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.
On her side, Lindsay Lohan’s recovery took her several years. Following her first stint in rehab in 2007, Lindsay suffered repeated setbacks throughout the late 2000s to the mid-2010s. All of these incidents took a toll on her acting and music career, though she eventually found her way back to recovery following her last reported stay at a treatment facility in 2014.
Where Are They Now?
Both Amanda Bynes and Lindsay Lohan are better now than they were when they spiraled down over drugs and legal issues, but it took them a long time to get there.
On one hand, there’s Amanda, who despite finding a sense of stability between 2014 and 2018, suffered more setbacks later in life. The latest one known to take place in June 2023, when she asked for help following a mental health episode one year after ending her conservatorship. Nonetheless, she has been taking baby steps to return to public life, by starting a podcast and updating her Instagram account. She’s also revealed her plans to become a nail artist in 2024.
Although Lindsay has been through other hardships, such as suffering a miscarriage and becoming the subject of a theft band in 2014, she has slowly but surely built her life back. Not only did she fix her relationship with her family, but also made her return to lead movie roles with “Falling for Christmas”, “Irish Wish” and the reprise of the unforgettable “Freaky Friday”. She’s now established in Dubai, where she lives with her husband Bader Shammas, and their son.
All in all, these two stars have experienced very difficult moments throughout their lives, but it’s admirable how relentlessly Lindsay and Amanda have tried to rebuild their lives.
