Amanda Peterson is an American actress. Peterson gained fame during the late 1980s when she portrayed Cindy Mancini, a Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 high-school student, in the movie Can't Buy Me Love

Can't Buy Me Love (film)

Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 teen comedy feature film starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:Ronald Miller is a...

.

Career

Prior to the success of Can't Buy Me Love, Peterson made TV appearances in Father Murphy

Father Murphy

Father Murphy is an American television drama 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 also directed the show in partnership with William F...

and Silver Spoons

Silver Spoons

Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987...

. She had a small role in the 1982 movie version of Annie

Annie (film)

Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...

before getting a starring role in the 1985 film Explorers

Explorers (film)

Explorers is a 1985 family-oriented science-fiction fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. It was the first feature film for both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.It was filmed in 70mm color with 6-track sound, and runs for 109 minutes...

. In the 1983–1984 season, she appeared as Squirt Sawyer on NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's short-lived Boone

Boone (TV series)

Boone is a 13-week dramatic television series which was broadcast on NBC from 1983–1984. It starred, principally, Tom Byrd and Barry Corbin. Byrd played teenager Boone Sawyer, who aspired to a career in rock and roll music, despite the advice of his stern father, Merit Sawyer, played by Corbin, who...

starring Tom Byrd and Barry Corbin

Barry Corbin

Leonard Barrie Corbin, known as Barry Corbin , is an American actor with more than one hundred film, television and video game credits.-Early life:...

.

In 1987, she portrayed Sunny, the granddaughter of patriarch Joe Gardner (Richard Kiley) in the series A Year in the Life

A Year in the Life

A Year in the Life was a 1986 Emmy Award–winning miniseries and a one hour dramatic series which ran on NBC during the 1987–1988 television season, created by Joshua Brand and John Falsey A Year in the Life was a 1986 Emmy Award–winning miniseries and a one hour dramatic series which ran on NBC...

. Later that year, she and co-star Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...

 obtained teen idol status after the release of Can't Buy Me Love. Peterson and Dempsey subsequently appeared on covers of teen magazines such as Tiger Beat

Tiger Beat

Tiger Beat is an American fan magazine marketed primarily to adolescent girls. It is currently published by Laufer Media, Inc. of Los Angeles, California, which also produces its sister publication, Bop....

, Teen Beat

Teen Beat

Teen Beat was an American magazine geared towards teenaged readers.First published in August 1976, the magazine was preceded by sister publications 16 Magazine, published in 1956, and Tiger Beat, which was first published in 1965...

and many others for a considerable amount of time. Peterson went on to make other movies, none of which have achieved the box-office success of Can't Buy Me Love. Peterson left acting after her last screen appearance in the 1995 film, Windrunner.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Annie Annie (film) Annie is a 1982 American musical film directed by John Huston and choreographed by Arlene Phillips. The film is an adaption of the 1977 stage musical of the same name, which in turn was based on the 1924 Little Orphan Annie comic strip by Harold Gray. The movie features music by Charles Strouse,...	Dancer	Credited as Mandy Peterson
1985	Explorers Explorers (film) Explorers is a 1985 family-oriented science-fiction fantasy film written by Eric Luke and directed by Joe Dante. It was the first feature film for both Ethan Hawke and River Phoenix.It was filmed in 70mm color with 6-track sound, and runs for 109 minutes...	Lori Swenson
1987	Can't Buy Me Love Can't Buy Me Love (film) Can't Buy Me Love is a 1987 teen comedy feature film starring Patrick Dempsey and Amanda Peterson in a story about a nerd at a high school in Tucson, Arizona who gives a cheerleader $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. The film was directed by Steve Rash.-Plot:Ronald Miller is a...	Cindy Mancini	Alternative title: Boy Rents Girl
1988		Diana
1989	Listen to Me	Donna Lumis
1995	Windrunner	Julie Moore	Alternative title: Windrunner: A Spirited Journey

Television

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Father Murphy Father Murphy Father Murphy is an American television drama 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 also directed the show in partnership with William F...	Elizabeth	Episode: "Matthew and Elizabeth"
1982	Silver Spoons Silver Spoons Silver Spoons is an American sitcom that aired on NBC from September 25, 1982 to May 11, 1986 and in first-run syndication from September 15, 1986 to March 4, 1987...	Sally Frumbel	Episode: "Takin' a Chance on Love"
1983	Boone Boone (TV series) Boone is a 13-week dramatic television series which was broadcast on NBC from 1983–1984. It starred, principally, Tom Byrd and Barry Corbin. Byrd played teenager Boone Sawyer, who aspired to a career in rock and roll music, despite the advice of his stern father, Merit Sawyer, played by Corbin, who...	Squirt Sawyer	Episode: "Words and Music"
1984	Best Kept Secrets	Gretchen	Television movie Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
1985	And the Children Shall Lead	Jenny	Television movie Alternative title: Wonderworks: And the Children Shall Lead
1986		Sunny Sisk	Miniseries
1986	Carly Mills	Trisha Mills	Television movie
1987– 1988		Sunny Sisk	22 episodes
1989	Love and Betrayal	Stephanie	Television movie Alternative title: Throw Away Wives
1990	Doogie Howser, M.D. Doogie Howser, M.D. Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....	Bernadette Callen	Episode: "Vinnie's Blind Date"
1990	Fatal Charm	Valerie	Television movie
1991	Hell Hath No Fury	Michelle Ferguson	Television movie
1991	Posing: Inspired by Three Real Stories	Abigail Baywood	Television movie Alternative title: I Posed for Playboy

Awards and nominations

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Title of work	Result
1984	Young Artist Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...	Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Boone	Nominated
1985	Young Artist Award	Best Young Supporting Actress in a Daytime or Nighttime Drama	Boone	Nominated
1986	Young Artist Award	Best Starring Performance by a Young Actress – Motion Picture	Explorers	Nominated
1988	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy	Can't Buy Me Love	Nominated
1988	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series		Won

External links