Entertainment
Amanda Bynes Best Movie & TV Roles Prove She Is a Natural Talent
Happy Birthday, old friend! Today is Amanda Bynes' 28th birthday, and we're excited to see that the actress seems to be in a healthy and happier place. After a tough few years, Bynes is getting healthy and taking a step back from Hollywood to focus on another passion: fashion design. Bynes is currently enrolled at FIDM in Los Angeles and, according to reports, is excited to learn all that she can about the industry. While we think it's great that Bynes is exploring new interests, we'll miss her as an actress.
Luckily, we have these 8 roles to re-watch whenever we need a fix of this goofy, fun star.
Ashley, 'All That'
Before Amanda Bynes had her own TV show, she was on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy show All That. As advice columnist Ashley in the “Ask Ashley” sketch, Amanda’s character had to answer a whole lotta stupid questions from a whole lotta stupid people. No wonder she freaks out at the end every single time.
Image: Nickelodeon
Penelope Taynt, 'The Amanda Show'
“Amanda, please!” Sure, Amanda Bynes played herself as host of The Amanda Show, but she also played her biggest stalker — err, “fan” — Penelope Taynt. Penelope was always looking for a way to get closer to her beloved Amanda, to no avail. You can still check out Penelope Taynt’s website here.
Image: Nickelodeon
Moody, 'The Amanda Show'
Dawson had a creek. Moody had a point. This All That parody sketch poked fun at the dramatic teen soaps of the ’90s and featured Amanda in her most angst-filled role yet. It’s no wonder Moody was so depressed — her mother drifted away in a hot air balloon.
Image: Nickelodeon
Daphne, 'What A Girl Wants'
This was the movie that turned child actress Amanda Bynes into a bonafide starlet. (Seriously, if you don’t watch this movie every time it’s on TV, what are you doing with your life?) In the film, Daphne heads to London to meet the father (Colin Firth) that she’s never known… only to discover that he’s a member of London’s high society and that she doesn’t exactly fit the mold. Oh, and did we mention she meets a cute British guy? Yeah, she also meets a cute British guy. This movie is the best.
Image: Warner Bros.
Viola, 'She's The Man'
Amanda’s serious comedy chops came into play in this modern day retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In this movie, soccer player Viola must take her twin brother’s place on the all-guys soccer team when he goes AWOL. Unfortunately, she didn’t count on having a crush on another star of the team… or that his secret love would be crushing on Viola. Hilarity ensues.
Image: DreamWorks
Holly, 'What I Like About You'
In this sitcom, two very different sisters moved in together and took on the big city. Amanda played Holly, the free-spirited sister of straight-laced Val (Jennie Garth). The show had plenty of love triangles and laughs and lasted for four seasons on The WB. Perhaps the best part of this show was figuring out whether Holly should be with Ben, Vince, or Henry. (Did I mention one of the guys is British?)
Image: The WB
Penny, 'Hairspray'
Amanda Bynes was the perfect choice to play Penny Pingleton in the 2007 musical version of this beloved Broadway play. As the lovable best friend of Tracy Tumblad, Penny helped end segregation on televised dance competitions.
Image: New Line Cinema
Marianne, 'Easy A'
Amanda played the goofy free spirit in a ton of movies, so it was great to see her play someone a little more uptight. In Easy A, Amanda Bynes plays Marianne, a hyper-conservative religious nut who makes it her mission to save a character when she hears about her “loose” behavior.
Image: Screen Gems
