The Rise and Fall of Four Hollywood Starlets
Amanda Bynes: That cute girl from Nickelodeon’s Figure It Out, All That, and The Amanda Show. You know who I’m talking about. The girl who turned into a young woman in the WB’s What I Like About You and starred in movies such as What a Girl Wants, She’s the Man, Easy A, and Hairspray. It seemed like Amanda Bynes had a decent future ahead of her.
But then came the beginning of the end, in June 2010 via Twitter, she announced that she didn’t “love acting anymore.” After the cloud of confusion settled around America about who exactly Amanda Bynes was, people “mourned” over her retirement news, so much so, that she told People Magazine that she had a change of heart and merely was taking “time off.” Now, in the world of Hollywood, that could’ve meant a variety of things: drugs, rehab, no work, on the verge of a mental breakdown, a secret pregnancy, a career makeover, or she was “over it.”
We’ll never forget the date April 6th, 2012. It was 3am and Amanda Bynes was arrested and charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in West Hollywood, CA. Scandal! But this was only the tip of the ‘Hot Mess’ iceberg. On September 4th, 2012, Bynes was charged with a hit-and-run on TWO separate occasions. And on September 6th,2012, the California DMV suspended her driver’s license. Then, just ten days later, Bynes’ car was impounded after being caught driving with a suspended license.
Word on the street is that Amanda Bynes’ friends are pleading with her to get some help since her family doesn’t seem to be too concerned with her recent trouble with the law. Recently, her management and agency both dropped her as a client and pictures have surfaced of Bynes “hiding out” in NYC.
Demi Lovato: A sweet Disney girl who starred in The Camp Rock movies, which opened the door for her own Disney show called Sonny with a Chance. She also took a “break” from acting because of “health issues” and wanted to focus more on her music career. In September 2008, she went on tour with the Jonas Brothers as a support act.
What was the spark? What turned this promising Disney star to go slightly off the deep end? We could blame her very public breakup with Joe Jonas, which she announced via Twitter in May 2010. This was followed by Joe Jonas’ very public relationship with Ashley Greene of Twilight fame. A factor? Perhaps.
Then in October 2010 while Lovato was on tour (with the Jonas Brothers), there was an “incident” where she “allegedly” punched a Jonas Brother back-up dancer in the face at an airport in Bogota, Colombia. Supposedly the back-up dancer in question, Alex Welch, informed tour managers of Lovato’s inappropriate behavior the night before. Mind racing! Drugs? Many blind-items about a Disney star who enjoyed her cocaine. Self-Cutting? Who knows? Only Ms. Alex Welch does and we know she’s never telling.
Soon after, she checked herself into a treatment facility to treat emotional and physical issues. Lovato completed an inpatient treatment and continued to seek help for her “issues” in Los Angeles. She had her first post-rehab interview with ABC, where she confirmed she was getting treated for bulimia, depression, and self-injury, along with self-medication and “basically had a nervous breakdown.” She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
Demi Lovato seems to be on the straight and narrow now, becoming an advocate of issues directly affecting teen girls. She also allowed MTV to film part of her recovery process in a documentary titled “Stay Strong.” She has since released an album and is part of the X Factor Judge panel.
Miley Cyrus: Oh Miley! Remember those Hannah Montana days? Such a simpler time. Cyrus quickly became a Disney starlet not only with Hannah Montana, but with her music career. Some of her hit songs include: “7 Things,” “Party in the U.S.A.,” and “Can’t Be Tamed.” She has also starred in the movie, The Last Song, which was used to widen Miley’s fan base. Hannah Montana ended after its fourth season giving the actress more time to focus on her career.
First there were the photo leaks: images of Cyrus “almost” kissing a girl, then images of the innocent Disney star dressed provocatively were all over the Web. Followed by the infamous Vanity Fair cover, which showed the 15 year old actress “topless,” followed by the article which was less than flattering. Parents and media outlets were outraged by the photo. Next was the “pole dance seen around the world” at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards where Miley Cyrus was performing her latest hit “Party in the U.S.A.”
The media spiral continued when in 2010 TMZ released the 16 year old star giving the director of The Last Song a lap dance at the film’s wrap party. Then images of her smoking Salvia from a bong were leaked onto the internet, officially sheading that good-girl image. Then birthday party pictures leaked from Liam Hemsworth’s (her fiancé) most recent birthday party of her acting “drunk” and dancing on top of tables.
Miley Cyrus displays her bad-girl image very publicly on her Twitter account as well. And she continues to be a staple tabloid star. And show off her side boob. Let’s “hope” married life will tame her…oh wait, she can’t be tamed.
Lindsay Lohan: Lohan captured our hearts in Disney’s 1998 remake of Parent Trap, as the cute-ginger duo of Hallie Parker and Annie James. She then starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the 2003’s Freaky Friday. Her movie career was taking off and she was getting praise form film critic Roger Ebert and won a 2004 MTV Movie Award. She broke away from her Disney image and starred in the smash-hit Mean Girls. Wanting to be a triple threat, Lohan started focusing on her music career and released an album, Speak, along with soundtracks for her Disney movies. She moved from blockbusters to more independent films like Bobby, Chapter 27, and Prairie Home Companion.
By the early 2000′s, Lohan had become a favorite of the paparazzi and gossip magazines. While filming Georgia Rule (2007), a studio executive James G. Robinson publicly released a letter calling her “irresponsible and unprofessional” among other things. This prompted Lohan to attend AA meetings. Then after being dropped by many films, Lohan re-entered rehab in 2007 and then in May that same year she was arrested and charged with a DUI. In July, when refusing to a field sobriety test she was taken to the police station where her blood alcohol level was above the legal limit and the police found a small amount of cocaine.
Her personal life continued to be a topic for gossip with trips in and out of rehab, a lesbian relationship, 84 minutes of jail time, many court dates, failed drug tests, “exhaustion” claims, and late-night drinking with her mom. Needless to say, Lohan seems to be getting better. Her appearance on Glee gave her fans hope that she had cleaned up her act. She has been slowly being offered more and more work and most recently, starring in a Lifetime movie, Liz & Dick, and filming scenes in Scary Movie 5. Lohan continues to have legal issues though. She’s the gift that keeps on giving in the world of celebrity gossip.
