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: