Amanda Felicitas Stepto (born 31 July 1970) is a Canadian former actress who gained nationwide fame for her role as teen mother Christine "Spike" Nelson in the Degrassi franchise. Having no previous acting experience, Stepto rose to national prominence in the late 1980s portraying Spike on Degrassi Junior High (1987-89) and its follow-up Degrassi High (1989-91), of which were critical and commercial successes for the CBC. Spike's controversial teenage pregnancy storyline, as well as her trademark spiked hair, afforded Stepto a period of significant media attention. Degrassi Junior High was largely truncated and later dropped by the BBC in large part due to episodes about Spike's pregnancy, in spite of a UK publicity tour by the actress. As part of the Playing With Time Repertory Company, Stepto was made a Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF Ontario and visited the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. In the early 1990s, Stepto was a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood and was sponsored by the organization for a controversial tour of Albertan high schools. Stepto left acting later in the 1990s due to typecasting and loss of interest, returning to reprise the role of Spike as an adult in the first seven seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001-08). Degrassi remains her only major role. She was praised for her performance and was nominated for a Young Artist Award (as part of an ensemble) and a Gemini Award. Biography Early life (1970-1986) Amanda Felicitas Stepto was born on 31 July 1970 in Montreal, Quebec, the child of a young local woman and an "American jazz musician just passing through" Her birth mother put her up for adoption at three months old. She spent her early years residing in Meadowvale, Mississauga. In a podcast interview, Stepto said she was first exposed to punk rock when attending a concert by The Police in Oakville, Ontario in August 1981, where she witnessed the audience of punks. Stepto developed her trademark spiked hair when she was fourteen, citing Colin Abrahall, vocalist of the UK82 band GBH, as her chief stylistic inspiration. In 1987, she cited her favorite bands and artists as being Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Sex Pistols, Platinum Blonde, and The Cult. She attended the Etobicoke School of the Arts for three years, where she majored in dance and minored in drama, and later a school in Mississauga while starring in Degrassi. Degrassi (1987-1992) At