Amanda Peterson
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Phyllis Amanda Peterson (July 8, 1971 – July 3, 2015) was an American actress, most known for her role as Cindy Mancini in the 1987 comedy film '' Can't Buy Me Love''.


Early life

Peterson was born in
Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 108,795 at the 2020 United States Census, an increase of 17.12% since the 2010 ...
, the youngest of three children born to James Peterson, an ear, nose, and throat specialist, and his wife Sylvia. She had two older siblings: a sister, Anne Marie and a brother, James, Jr. Peterson began acting as a child and used the name "Amanda Peterson" in a professional capacity. In the beginning of her career, she used the name "Mandy Peterson", which was what friends and family called her.


Career

Peterson made her stage debut at age seven as Gretl in the
University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
's stage production of ''
The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. Se ...
''. At 11, she won a role in the musical film ''
Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...
'' as a dancing extra. Peterson went on to land guest spots on ''
Father Murphy ''Father Murphy'' is an American western drama television series that aired on the NBC network from November 3, 1981, to September 18, 1983. Michael Landon created the series, was the executive producer, and directed the show in partnership with ...
'' and '' Silver Spoons''. She also appeared in more than 50 television commercials. During the 1983–84 television season, she co-starred as Squirt Sawyer on the NBC drama series ''Boone''. ''Boone'' was canceled after one season. In 1985, Peterson won her first starring role in the feature film ''
Explorers Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
''. The next year, she co-starred as "Sunny Sisk" in the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning miniseries ''
A Year in the Life ''A Year in the Life'' is an American dramatic series that ran on NBC from September 16, 1987 to April 13, 1988, during the 1987–1988 television season, created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey. The series began as a three-part miniseries whi ...
''. The miniseries was highly acclaimed; it was the third-highest-rated miniseries of the 1986–87 U.S. television season with a 16.9/27 rating/share. Later it was adapted into a television series of the same name and aired on NBC from 1987 to 1988. For her work on the series, Peterson won a
Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...
for Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series. Despite being well received, ''A Year in the Life'' was canceled after one season. In 1986, 15-year-old Peterson was cast in the teen comedy ''Boy Rents Girl'', opposite
Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and race car driver. He is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy''. He had early success as an actor, starring in a number of fil ...
. The film was shot on location in
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
. The title was later changed to '' Can't Buy Me Love'' after producers secured the rights to
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
' 1964 song of the same name. Released in the summer of 1987, ''Can't Buy Me Love'' received mixed reviews but became the
sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...
of the summer. After its release, Peterson and Dempsey obtained teen idol status and subsequently appeared on the covers of teen magazines such as '' Tiger Beat'' and ''
Teen Beat ''Teen Beat'' is an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers, published from 1967–c. 2007. Over its history, the magazine had multiple teen idols on its cover, including John Travolta, David Cassidy, Leif Garrett, Menudo, Michael J. ...
''. In a September 2015 interview with talk show '' The Doctors'', Peterson's family revealed that she was raped at age 15 and had not disclosed it at the time. In 1988, Peterson co-starred in a Roger Corman production, the post-apocalyptic film ''The Lawless Land'', followed by a role in the 1989 teen drama '' Listen to Me''. Later that year, she returned to Greeley, where she graduated from University High School (while working in Los Angeles, she was privately tutored). Shortly after graduating, she starred in the television movie '' Fatal Charm''. That fall, Peterson enrolled at
Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
., where she appeared in a black box production of the Sarah Daniels play ''Masterpieces.'' While on semester break, she appeared in a guest spot on '' Doogie Howser, M.D.'' Later that year, Peterson dropped out of Middlebury College. In 1994, she returned to acting in the
fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
''WindRunner'' in a role alongside Jason Wiles. It was Peterson's final onscreen role.


Later years

In 1994, Peterson retired from the entertainment industry and returned to her hometown of Greeley. According to her father, she left Hollywood to "choose a new path in her life." After briefly attending Middlebury College, she enrolled at
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...
for a year. Peterson later studied at the
University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...
. In 2012, she briefly modeled for a Colorado photographer. Peterson was twice married and had two children. She was first married to Joseph Robert Skutvik. After their divorce, she married David Hartley. Peterson and Hartley were reportedly divorced at the time of her death. Between October 2000 and May 2012, Peterson was arrested five times for the offenses of third-degree assault, harassment,
DUI Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...
, and possession of drug paraphernalia and suspicion of distributing a Schedule 2 controlled substance. From September to December 2005, she spent nearly three months in jail. Peterson's last arrests were for a misdemeanor DUI and possession of narcotics equipment charge in April 2012, and suspicion of child abuse in May 2012, which was later dropped. According to her father, she had previously struggled with drug issues, but was drug-free at the time of her death and had become "quite religious." He also said that, in recent years, Peterson had had sleep apnea and bouts of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...
and sinusitis. For the last three years of her life, Peterson was receiving disability benefits and lived alone in an apartment in Greeley.


Death

On , 2015, Peterson was reported missing. She was found dead at her home at age 43, five days before her 44th birthday. Her body was discovered on by police when her family became concerned after Peterson missed a scheduled family dinner. While the Greeley police did not comment on specific details due to an ongoing investigation, they said Peterson's apartment door was unlocked but there were no signs of foul play. During an interview with ''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' shortly after Peterson's death, her mother stated that while her daughter had issues with drugs when she was younger, she believed her to be drug-free when she died and that her death "was not in any way a drug thing." An autopsy to determine the cause of Peterson's death was scheduled by the Weld County coroner for and the results of the autopsy and toxicology tests were released on September 2, 2015. The medical examiner determined that Peterson died of an accidental drug overdose. According to the coroner's report, Peterson had undergone a
hysterectomy Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. It may also involve removal of the cervix, ovaries (oophorectomy), Fallopian tubes (salpingectomy), and other surrounding structures. Usually performed by a gynecologist, a hysterectomy may b ...
shortly before her death and was prescribed Gabapentin for post-surgical pain management. She was taking
morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
at the time of her death; according to the report, she obtained the drug from a friend a week before she died. The coroner's report concluded Peterson experienced a "morphine effect" that triggered respiratory failure leading to her death. Peterson was later cremated.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


See also

* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Amanda 1971 births 2015 deaths 2010s missing person cases 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American women Accidental deaths in Colorado Actresses from Colorado American child actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Colorado State University alumni Drug-related deaths in Colorado Formerly missing people Middlebury College alumni Missing person cases in Colorado People from Greeley, Colorado University of Northern Colorado alumni