Former Nickelodeon star Amanda Bynes reveals she lost 13 kg on Ozempic: 'I know I still look big'

Amanda Bynes is celebrating a personal milestone—and it’s all about progress, not perfection. The former child star, 39, shared a paparazzi photo on her Instagram Stories Monday, Dec. 22, revealing she’s lost 28 lbs since starting the GLP-1 medication Ozempic (also called Wegovy), which helps regulate appetite and supports weight loss.

“I usually don’t like paparazzi pictures bc I was 180lbs but now I’ve lost 28lbs on ozempic! I’m down to 152lbs,” Bynes wrote. “I know I still look big but this photo is really inspiring to me!”

Back in June, she shared her goal of shedding more than 40 lbs, saying, “Oh, I’m going on Ozempic. So excited. I’m 173 now so I hope to get down to like 130, which would be awesome so I look better in paparazzi pictures. I will post about my Ozempic journey of course.”

Bynes has been candid about her struggles, admitting in March 2024 that she gained weight 'from being depressed' but has worked on self-care and motivation: “I’m doing a lot better now and have learned to do opposite action when I don’t feel like working out or eating clean.” Over the years, she’s been open about mental health challenges, body insecurities, and past substance struggles that led her to step away from acting in 2012.

At the peak of her career, Bynes found herself consumed by one thing: her body image. The actress, 32, struggled with severe insecurities that eventually contributed to her drug addiction and played a part in her decision to step away from acting in 2012.

In an interview with People, she recalled the 'dark phase' she went into, after She's The Man. “When the movie came out and I saw it, I went into a deep depression for 4-6 months because I didn’t like how I looked when I was a boy,” she told Paper magazine in 2018. Her short hair and sideburns were 'a super strange and out-of-body experience. It just really put me into a funk.'