Amanda Laura Bynes was born on April 3, 1986 in Thousand Oaks, California where she was also raised. She is best known for being an actress but can also be credited with fashion design and singing, as well as TV show hosting. She is the daughter of a dental assistant mother and a dentist father and has an older brother and sister.

She acted in her first commercial at age 7 and did stage work in plays such as "Annie", "The Sound of Music", "The Music Man" and "The Secret Garden", she was discovered by a Nickelodeon executive in 1996 and was signed to become a member of the cast of the network's kids show "All That". Was a regular on the show until its cancellation in 2000. Meanwhile in 1999, she was given her own show on Nickelodeon, named "The Amanda Show", which quickly became an audience favorite earning Bynes nominations for numerous awards such as The Young Star Award for Best Young Actress Performance in a Comedy TV Series and The Young Artist Award in the same category.

Her first time on film was in 2002 opposite Frankie Muniz in the "Big Fat Liar". Her first leading role in a movie came a year later in "What A Girl Wants", starring Kelly Preston and Colin Firth. She also starred in the comedy "She's the Man" in 2006. She played the part of Penny Pingleton in the movie musical "Hairspray", in 2007. She has two upcoming movies, Easy A another in which she will have the lead role.

Romantically she has been linked to fellow actor Taran Killam whom she met while filming "The Amanda Show". Her current residence is in Hollywood, California where she lives with her dog Midge.