Amy Steel

For the netballer, see Amy Steel (netballer).

Amy Steel
Born	Alice Amy Steel (1960-05-03) May 3, 1960 Pennsylvania, United States
Other names	Amy Steel Pulitzer
Occupation(s)	Actress, writer
Years active	1980–2004; 2009–present

Amy Steel Pulitzer (born Alice Amy Steel; May 3, 1960) is an American actress and psychologist. She began her career with guest appearances on a variety of television soap operas. Transitioning into feature films, Steel rose to prominence when she was chosen to play the role of Ginny Field in Steve Miner's slasher-horror film Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981). A commercial hit, Steel was asked by Miner to reprise her role as Ginny in the 1982 3D film Friday the 13th Part III but declined the offer as she feared being typecast.

After her involvement in the Friday the 13th franchise, she was cast as a prominent supporting character in Fred Walton's mystery film April Fool's Day (1986). Subsequently, Steel had supporting roles in Melvin Frank's comedy film Walk Like a Man (1987), David Greene's remake What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1991), and the Bart Mastronardi and Alan Rowe Kelly directed anthology horror film Tales of Poe (2014).

In addition to film, Steel has an extensive television career, starring on the NBC series The Powers of Matthew Star (1982–83), followed by guest appearances on shows such as Family Ties (1982), The A-Team (1983), Quantum Leap (1990), and China Beach (1991). In the early 2000s, she retired from acting and launched a career as a psychologist.

Career

Steel began her career with guest roles on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light as Trudy Wilson from 1980–1981, and as Peggy Warner on All My Children in 1980. In 1981, Amy made her film debut in the comedy film Fat Chance before being cast as Ginny Field in the horror film Friday the 13th Part 2. She won the role through an audition and it went on to become one of her most recognizable performances. The film earned over $21 million at the box office. She was offered the chance to reprise the role for the third film in the long-running series, but was hesitant because she feared being typecast and was persuaded to turn it down by her agent at the time. However, she does make a brief cameo appearance on a news report shown in the film. Steel described filming the window scene in Part 2 as a stressful experience. In a March 2010 interview, she stated:

"I was thinking this is the worst moment of my life, and they had to do a lot of re-sets because they had to put the window back together. So it would be an hour, hour and a half between takes. I think we did it at least three times. When the director came back a week later and told me we had to do it again, I was so upset."

In 1982, Steel had guest roles on the television series Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1982) as Allison Freleng, Family Ties (1982) as Stephanie Brooks, CHiPs as Kelly Monahan, The A-Team (1983) as Kathy Ludlam, before being cast as Pam Elliott in the sci-fi series The Powers of Matthew Star alongside Peter Barton, who went on to appear in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter. The series lasted until 1983. The same year, Steel had a cameo role as a party guest in the drama film Exposed (1983). She was subsequently cast in the television films Women of San Quentin (1983) as Liz Larson and First Steps (1985) as Nan Davis. From 1983–1984, Steel portrayed Sharon on the short lived television series For Love and Honor.

In 1985, she had a guest appearance in Stir Crazy as Lisa Grant before being cast as Kit Graham in the horror film April Fool's Day (1986). The latter earned nearly $13 million against an estimated budget of $5 million. The following year, she portrayed Penny in the comedy film Walk Like a Man (1987). The following year, Steel was cast in the television thriller film The Red Spider. In 1987, and again in 1989, Steel a guest roles in Jake and the Fatman. In 1990, Steel guest starred on Father Dowling Mysteries and Quantum Leap before being cast as Connie in the television film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, a remake of the 1962 film of the same name. The same year, she guest starred on China Beach and Walter & Emily. In 1992, Steel was cast in the television film Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo. The same year, she was cast in the horror film Play Nice.

I think it would be really cool to come back as Ginny again. The funny thing is that I’ve never been asked since Part 3. But I think it’s time to see Ginny again in a Friday the 13th movie. She has some unfinished business.

—Steel on the possibility of returning to the Friday the 13th series

In 1994, Steel guest starred on Viper, Home Improvement and Diagnosis: Murder before being cast in the television films Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice and The Innocent. In 1995, she was cast in the television series The Commish and the television film Damaged and Deceived. In 1996, she guest starred on American Gothic and Chicago Hope. The following year, she portrayed Dr. Liz Michaels in an episode of Millennium. In 1999, Steel was cast in the films Valerie Flake and Tycus. The following year, she portrayed Commander Samantha Woodling in a guest appearance on JAG.

In 2003, Steel was cast as Claire Goodman Isenberg in the television film A Time to Remember. After this role, Steel took an extensive break from acting and became a psychotherapist. In 2009, Steel appeared as herself in the television documentary His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th. In 2013, she appeared as herself in the documentary Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th. In 2014, Steel made her first acting appearance in 11 years in the anthology horror film Tales of Poe. She starred alongside Adrienne King and Caroline Williams. Steel is set to reprise her role as Ginny in a short Friday the 13th sequel set 40 years after the original film. She is co-writing the film with King.

Personal life

During the filming of the 1985 television film First Steps, Steel developed a friendship with Nan Davis. In an interview, Steel said:

"We have a good relationship, we don't fret if we don't talk for a month. The filming ended last May, and we've seen each other two or three times since then. We get on the phone and it's as if we've not been out of touch at all."

In 1986 she married Peter Pulitzer. She has two daughters. She serves as a marriage and family therapist intern at InBalance in the Santa Monica Mountains in California. She also has a private practice in Calabasas, California specializing in adolescent and mid-life transitions.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Fat Chance	Alison
1981	Friday the 13th Part 2	Ginny Field
1982	Friday the 13th Part III	Ginny Field	Cameo
1983	Exposed	Party Guest	Cameo
1983	Women of San Quentin	Liz Larson	Television film
1984	Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter	Ginny Field	Archive footage
1984	Terror in the Aisles	Ginny Field	Archive footage
1985	First Steps	Nan Davis	Television film
1986	April Fool's Day	Kit Graham
1987	Walk Like a Man	Penny
1987	Home Fires	Cathy Ash	Television film
1987	The Red Spider	Kate O'Day	Television film
1991	What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?	Connie Trotter	Television film
1992	Perry Mason: The Case of the Reckless Romeo	Roxanne Shields	Television film
1992	Play Nice	Nancy
1994	Ray Alexander: A Taste for Justice	Dr. Gail Baker	Television film
1994	The Innocent	Molly	Television film
1995	Abandoned and Deceived		Television film
1999	Valerie Flake	Denise
1999	Tycus	Little Girl's Mother	Direct-to-video film
2003	A Time to Remember	Claire Goodman Isenberg	Television film
2004	Crystal Lake Victims Tell All	Herself	Documentary
2010	Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy	Herself	Archive footage, uncredited
2013	Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th	Herself	Documentary
2014	Tales of Poe	Mother of Dreams / Poetic Narrator
2019	Friday the 13th	Ginny Field	Short, writer

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	All My Children	Peggy Warner	Recurring role
1980–81	Guiding Light	Trudy Wilson	Recurring role
1982	Seven Brides for Seven Brothers	Allison Frelang	1 episode
1982–83	The Powers of Matthew Star	Pam Elliott	Regular; 14 episodes
1982	Family Ties	Stephanie Brooks	1 episode
1983	CHiPs	Kelly Monahan	1 episode
1983	The A-Team	Kathy Ludlam	1 episode
1983–84	For Love and Honor	Sharon	12 episodes
1985	Stir Crazy	Lisa Grant	1 episode
1987–89	Jake and the Fatman	Samantha Shay / Mia Delaine	2 episodes
1990	Father Dowling Mysteries	Murphy	1 episode
1990	Quantum Leap	Maggie Spontini	1 episode
1991	China Beach	Maria Koloski	1 episode
1991	Walter & Emily	Ginny	1 episode
1993	Space Rangers	Sarah Boon	1 episode
1993	Time Trax	Laura Darrow	1 episode
1994	Viper	Lisa Hinkle	1 episode
1994	Home Improvement	Eve	1 episode
1994	Diagnosis: Murder	Jenny Morley	1 episode
1995	The Commish	Rhonda Shonick	1 episode
1996	American Gothic	Christie	1 episode
1996	Chicago Hope	Lisa Erickson	1 episode
1997	Millennium	Dr. Liz Michaels	1 episode
2000	JAG	Commander Samantha Woodling	1 episode
2009	His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th	Herself	Television documentary

External links

• Amy Steel at IMDb
• Amy Steel on Twitter