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There are a lot of those “what could have been stories” in Hollywood when it comes to former child stars. Among the more recent entries into that category is Amanda Bynes, who became a breakout star on Nickelodeon when she was just 10 years old and then went on to establish a movie career for herself. However, personal issues caused her to walk away from the scene in her mid 20s, and she hasn’t returned since. Born on April 3, 1986, Bynes had appeared on stage and in commercials while very young before landing her big break.

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Bynes made her screen acting debut when she joined the cast of the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series “All That” during its third season in 1996. Bynes remained with the cast for four seasons, while also making guest appearances on other television shows. By the end of the decade, Bynes landed her own series, “The Amanda Show”, which ran until 2002.

Following its conclusion, Bynes had another hit on her hands when she moved to network television to star in the series “What I Like About You”. Since it ended in 2006, though, Bynes has only had two television appearances with a guest spot on “Family Guy” and a TV movie called “Living Proof”, both in 2008.

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As for her film career, Bynes became a breakout star after “The Amanda Show”. In 2002, she made her film debut with “Big Fat Liar”, and then went on to star in several other movies such as “She’s the Man”, “Hairspray” and “Sydney White”. Her most recent role to this date came in 2010 when she starred alongside Emma Stone in “Easy A”.

In the early 2010s, Bynes had gained control of the money that she made when she was a child star, which led to some concern from those around her. “While Amanda was growing up her parents and lawyers controlled all of her money, they put it away in investments so that she would be able to have it when she got older,” a source said.

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The source continued by saying that “Amanda made a lot of money starting with Nickelodeon and then other TV shows and movies, but she lived like a regular girl when she was young. However, a few months ago she demanded that she have complete access to all of the money so she could spend it, not save anymore.” What caused the concern was that people around her say that Bynes throws a lot of her money away.

“Her spending is out of control,” the source said. They revealed that Bynes had been going on massive shopping sprees and lengthy vacations that would last for over a month at times. “(She’s going to run out of money sooner or later,” they said. “The girl no longer has an income.”

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When she got into a legal battle with her parents in 2014, some of Bynes’ spending habits were put out on full display. One of the purchases that she made was a series of Cartier necklaces that cost a combined $100,000, and she then gave those necklaces away to people walking by her on the street. All in all, her net worth at the time was about $5.7 million, with half of that being in the form of real estate. Her parents have said that Bynes has spent more than $1 million in a given year despite not having an income.

Bynes seemed to turn a new leaf a few years later, which allowed her to regain control of her finances once again. “Because Amanda was doing much better, in October 2016, after providing a detailed accounting of the estate and accounting for every expenditure and receipt, (Bynes’ mother) Lynn petitioned the court to terminate the conservatorship of the estate,” Bynes’ lawyer said. “There was no longer a need for court supervision of Amanda’s money and she and her family can handle her financial affairs privately...Amanda’s doing fantastic.”

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It’s been over a decade since Bynes has appeared on screen, but she says she wants to get back into it, which would obviously help with any financial woes. “I do miss acting and I have something surprising to tell you: I’m going to start acting again,” Bynes said in an interview. “I want to do TV. Maybe a few guest spots on some shows that I’m a fan of and maybe another TV show where I’m the star of it.”

Bynes also revealed that she had found a new career path in the process. She went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, learning how to design clothing. Now, Bynes wants to start a fashion line of her own at some point in an attempt to stay on the right track.