Swift made her acting debut in 1977 at the age of 13, in the horror film "Audrey Rose", as Ivy Templeton, a young girl suffering from disturbing nightmares because she is the reincarnation of a girl named Audrey Rose. Produced by Frank De Felitta, a nationwide search was done to identify a young girl to play the lead role and Swift won the role after being scouted at a local theater group at her middle school. De Felitta wanted to avoid casting a known child actor and was rather looking for 'the perfect face' to play the lead role.