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8 Best Amanda Bynes Roles Explored As Actress Turns 38
On the actress’s 38th birthday, let’s look at the 8 greatest characters Amanda Bynes has played till now.
Hollywood A-lister turned manicurist, Amanda Bynes turns 38 today. Born in April 1986, Bynes started her career as a Nickelodeon child actress, starring in sketch comedy series like 1994’s All That, 1999’s The Amanda Show, and 2002’s What I Like About You. Eventually, Bynes steered toward Hollywood and embodied several interesting characters throughout her journey before she quit acting after her final stint in 2010’s Easy A. She moved on to pursue her dream of becoming a manicurist.
On her 38th birthday, let’s look at the 8 greatest characters Amanda Bynes has played till now.
8. Jenny Taylor - Love Wrecked (2005)
Starring Amanda Bynes as Jenny Taylor, Love Wrecked is a light-hearted romantic comedy. Bynes plays Jenny Taylor, who swoons over rock star Jason portrayed by Chris Carmack. Obsessed to get his attention, she goes on to work for his go-to resort, hoping to get a glimpse of Jason. Jonathan Bennett plays Jenny’s best friend Ryan, who is secretly in love with her and accompanies her to the resort. 
Later on, Jenny and Jason get stranded and even though the location is near to the resort, Jenny hides the fact from her dream boy. She wants him to fall in love with her and ends up getting trapped in her lies. However, Jenny finds love with her best friend turned boyfriend Ryan.
7. Sydney White - Sydney White (2007)
The movie appears as a modern-day adaptation of the fairy tale, Snow White. Bynes plays the titular Sydney White, a college freshman wanting to join the most popular sorority his late mother was part of. Sarah Paxton’s Rachel serves as the queen bee. She stands as an obstruction to Sydney’s endeavor and bans her from joining the sorority.
Consequently, Sydney teams up with seven socially awkward outcasts to form The Vortex and campaigns against Rachel to dethrone her from the student council presidency. Bynes was praised by a NY Times critic for her comedic timing and light-hearted humor as Sydney White.
ALSO READ: Top 10 Amanda Bynes Movies and TV Shows: From Easy A To Hairspray
6. What A Girl Wants (2003)
In the teen comedy based on the 1995 play, The Reluctant Debutant by William Douglas-Home, Amanda Bynes plays 17-year-old Daphne who travels around the globe to reunite with her estranged father. She leaves her mother Libby Reynolds portrayed by Kelly Preston, and her New York City life to move to England. She finds out her father is the wealthy Lord Henry Dashwood. Unaware of her daughter’s existence, he welcomes Daphne. His advisor Alistair Payne (Jonathan Pryce) had hidden the fact from the Lord for years.
Daphne tries too hard to fit into his aristocratic father’s prim and proper lifestyle, taking on challenges with high spirits. However, she eventually realizes that it’s not meant for her and plans her way to back New York. Lord Dashwood follows her daughter back home and reunites with the family living happily ever after.
5. Piper Pinwheeler - Robots (2005)
From the producers of Ice Age, Robots was a blockbuster hit in 2005. In the animated sci-fi film, Amanda Bynes voiced the witty yellow-plated robot, Piper Pinwheeler. She was the sister of Robin Williams’ character, Fender.
Piper loved a good fight and joined Ewan McGregor’s Rodney on a mission to bring back Mel Brooks’ Bigweld to help them save “outmoded” robots. Greg Kinnear’s Ratchet was the antagonist who stopped making parts for the old robots waiting to be saved.
4. Viola Hastings - She’s The Man (2006)
The sporty rom-com revolves around Bynes’ Viola Hastings, a teen with a dream to play soccer overcoming several challenges. After her school’s female soccer team gets dissolved, Viola is determined to pursue her love for the sport. Therefore, she opts for the boy’s soccer team but is mocked and laughed at by the coach. The narrative explores gender stereotypes with a tinge of comedy.
However, Viola’s unwavering spirit urges her to convince her twin brother Sebastian to help her get into the team by allowing her to pose as him after he goes on to pursue his music career in London. Viola takes his spot and plays in the male team dressing as a boy. Her crush, Duke played by Channing Tatum helps her train to upgrade her soccer skills and be “one of the guys” seamlessly.
3. Kaylee - Big Fat Liar (2002)
Playing the best friend of Franki Muniz’s Jason Shepherd, Bynes takes on the role of Kaylee who helps her friend to make desperate Hollywood producer Marty Worlf by Paul Giamatti’s life miserable. Jason is a liar but has a knack for writing. Therefore, after one of his essays was converted into a Hollywood feature film and Marty Wolf took its credit, Jason wanted him to tell the truth to his parents.
This role was Amanda Bynes's first full-length feature in Hollywood after her Nickelodeon career wrapped. The movie’s success brought her acting finesse to the spotlight and helped her launch a successful career in Hollywood.
2. Marianne Bryant - Easy A (2010)
Co-starring alongside Emma Stone and Penn Badgley, Bynes plays a subtle antagonist in the film, Marianne Bryant. She is a devout Christian who is the reason for Olive’s (Emma Stone) high school misery. She overhears Olive lying to her best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka) about losing her virginity to someone in college and spreads it to the entire school. Judging her morality, Marianne does not lose a second to show Olive in a negative light in front of the school.
1. Penny Pingleton - Hairspray (2007)
In an adaptation of John Water’s 1988 Broadway musical, Amanda Bynes played Penny Pingleton, showing off her singing skills as well as versatility as an actress. She is the best friend of Nikki Blonsky’s Tracy Turnblad, an overweight teenager who strives for a dancing career and becomes a superstar.
A story of friendship, the musical follows the adventures of the two youngsters as they pursue their aspirations. Bynes performed verses in Without Love and You Can’t Stop The Beat. Notably, Bynes’ role bagged her multiple awards, and was also offered a recording contract with a hip-hop label, per IMDb.
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