Amanda Stepto

Amanda Stepto was born on July 31, 1970 in Montreal, Quebec. She was adopted at three months old. [1]

Stepto was a student at the Etobicoke School of the Arts when she auditioned for the role of Christine "Spike" Nelson in Degrassi Junior High. According to her, she was the only person in the class to act on the audition. [1] The iconic spiked hair associated with her character was her real life hairstyle, as she was an avid fan of punk rock. When her character became pregnant, Stepto received many positive and negative fan letters, with some allegedly calling her a "sinner" for her character's actions.[1] She was also often asked for advice on sex and pregnancy, to which she claimed she gave "blase" advice or redirected them to professional helplines.[2] She also participated in the Degrassi Talks mini-series in 1992, travelling with five other actors from the show across Canada to interview teenagers about various issues.

Following Degrassi, Stepto did not take up any more major acting roles. She claimed that she was told to audition for the 1992-1994 CBC musical drama series Catwalk, but intentionally sabotaged her audition to avoid getting the part.[2] In the late 1990s, Stepto earned a bachelor's degree in history and politics at the University of Toronto and traveled to Japan to teach English for one year. [2]

Stepto's character on Degrassi inspired the ska punk band Skankin' Pickle song I'm In Love With A Girl Named Spike on their 1993 album Sing Along With Skankin' Pickle. Mike Park, the singer of the band, said that Spike was his favorite character on the show and that he was real-life friends with Stepto. [3]

• Amanda Stepto at IMDb
• Amanda Stepto interview with Degrassi.ca