Amanda Bynes' 2012 Mugshot Pinpoints The Start Of Her Downfall From Fame

At just 24, Amanda Bynes quit acting after "Easy A" in 2010 and largely retreated from the spotlight where she had spent her childhood and adolescence. Unfortunately, the former Nickelodeon star didn't leave Hollywood for a chance at a quieter life. Just two years afterward, the "She's the Man" actor had her first brush with the law, marking the beginning of her heartbreaking downfall from fame. In April 2012, days after her 26th birthday, Bynes was arrested on a DUI charge after sideswiping a police car in West Hollywood.

While DUI arrests are nothing out of the ordinary in the celeb world, Bynes' marked the beginning of a years' long battle with addiction and serious mental health issues. The signs emerged right away. After being officially charged in June 2012, Bynes took to X (then Twitter) to enlist the help of none other than Barack Obama. "I don't drink. Please fire the cop who arrested me. I also don't hit and run. The end," she wrote, tagging the then-president in a since-deleted tweet (via CBS News).

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Bynes was arrested two more times within the next year, culminating in a mental health evaluation hold in July 2013 after she set a fire in someone's driveway. At that point, Bynes' parents put her in a conservatorship. The following decade was marked by Bynes' dramatic physical transformation that, coupled with her erratic behavior, sparked worries among her fans. However, there have been positive signs that suggest she may have turned a corner.

On April 10, 2026, Amanda Bynes dropped a new song, "Girlfriend," marking her music comeback after years of personal struggles. Released in partnership with Zabba and rapper Fenix Flexin, the track marks the former child star's first song in four years. "My inspiration was a lot of EDM, as well as rap," she told People. Even though she has released several songs since she quit acting, "Girlfriend" is the first to come out since she her last mental health crisis three years earlier.

In March 2023, a year after her conservatorship ended, Bynes was put on a three-day psychiatric hold after she flagged a car to ask for help, TMZ reported. She was allegedly wearing no clothes and told the bystanders she had experienced a psychotic event. In June 2023, she called the police to report she was having thoughts of self-harm, according to a separate TMZ report. She received inpatient treatment for two weeks and agreed to continue her treatment as an outpatient in early July. Bynes appears to be doing much better, but her recovery hasn't been straightforward.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.