Amanda Bynes: Former child star's conservatorship terminated after 9 years

A judge has terminated the conservatorship of former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes after nine years.

Judge Roger L Lund agreed to release Bynes, 35, from the legal guardianship arrangement that was put in place in 2013 while she was undergoing psychiatric care.

The judge said that the arrangement was “no longer needed or required” as he noted Ms Bynes had “done everything the court has asked over a long period of time” while under the conservatorship, which gave her mother control of her financial and personal affairs.

The She’s All That and The Amanda Show star – who announced her retirement from acting in 2010, declaring it “isn’t as fun as it may seem” – is “looking forward to living a life as a private and normal citizen,” her lawyer David A Esquibias told Variety.

In a statement to People, Bynes said: “Following today’s decision by the judge to terminate my conservatorship, I would like to thank my fans for their love and well wishes during this time. I would also like to thank my lawyer and my parents for their support over the last nine years,

“In the last several years, I have been working hard to improve my health so that I can live and work independently, and I will continue to prioritize my well-being in this next chapter.

“I am excited about my upcoming endeavours — including my fragrance line — and look forward to sharing more when I can.”

Bynes had several run-ins with the law while suffering what she described as a nervous breakdown, and was briefly sectioned in July 2013 after trying to start a fire in a stranger’s driveway in California, setting her trousers on fire and accidentally drenching her pet Pomeranian dog in gasoline in the process.

Bynes has since spoken about struggling with drug addiction, issuing an apology in 2020 for what she said was “drugged out” and erratic behaviour as she revealed she is now sober.

The star is a student at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and is engaged to partner Paul Michael.

She filed to end her conservatorship in February.

Conservatorship agreements have faced scrutiny over the high-profile legal battle over the arrangement that prevented Britney Spears from controlling her own life for nearly 14 years.

Spears, who was freed from her conservatorship last year, accused her father of abusing his role as her conservator to exert excessive control over her life, which he denied.