Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks, California, the daughter of Lynn (née Organ), a dental assistant and office manager, and Rick Bynes, a dentist who also practiced stand-up comedy. Bynes has two older siblings, Tommy (born 1974), a chiropractor, and Jillian (born 1983), who has a Bachelor of Arts in History from UCLA and has also acted. Her maternal grandparents are from Toronto, Ontario. Bynes's Read more...

In 1993, Bynes was trained as an actress by Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor at a comedy camp, and began professionally acting at the age of seven, appearing in a television advertisement for Buncha Crunch candies. During her childhood, she also appeared on stage in versions of Annie, The Secret Garden, The Music Man and The Sound of Music. After taking acting classes, Bynes became a regular cast Read more...

In 2007 Bynes signed a five year deal with Steve & Barry's (which had been expanding its product offerings outside of its traditional university apparel and sweatshirts) to create her own fashion line, "Dear", consisting of apparel and accessories. Every piece in the line is priced at $19.98 or less. The line launched in stores August 16, 2007.