The tragic downfall of an 80s icon: Mugshots chart the decline of Can't Buy Me Love actress Amanda Peterson before she was found dead in her apartment aged 43 

• Former Hollywood star Amanda Peterson who was found dead in her home on Sunday had been arrested multiple times in the past few years
• She was arrested four times between 2000 and 2012, in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2012
• The 2012 arrest was for DUI and possession of narcotic equipment
• Results of her autopsy have still not been released, and a toxicology test is being performed as well
• Her mother Sylvia said while her daughter had struggled with drugs in the past, she had been clean for years 

By Dailymail.com Reporter

Published: 05:06 EST, 9 July 2015 | Updated: 13:05 EST, 9 July 2015

Mugshots of teen star Amanda Peterson reveal the sad downfall of the former Hollywood star in the years before her death.

Peterson was arrested four times between 2000 and 2012, most recently for DUI and possession of narcotic equipment under the name Priscilla Peterson in 2012.

The other arrests were in 2000, 2003, and 2005. 

She looks dazed and even bruised in the mugshots, and her mother has admitted that Peterson did have a drug problem at one point, but that she had been clean for years.

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Sad downfall: Amanda Peterson was arrested four times between 2000 and 2012. Pictured left in 2000 and right in 2003

Peterson spent nearly three months in prison following her arrest in 2005, pictured left. Most recently she was arrested in 2012, pictured right, for a DUI and possession of drug taking equipment

The tragic actress - who fled Hollywood in 1994 following the film Windrunner - was found dead at her Colorado apartment on Sunday, aged 43.

Police do not suspect foul play and her mother has now said she was dead for two days before the body was discovered. 

Sylvia Peterson told Entertainment Tonight about her daughter's struggle with drugs, but also said those days were long behind her.

'This was not, in any way, a drug thing,' she said of her daughter's death. 

In an interview with People, Sylvia also revealed her daughter seemed fine shortly before her death.

'She was in bed, and she'd had a wonderful day, and we were planning on a dinner the next day, so it was just a very, very big surprise,' she said.

She then added; 'She was so great. She had a cute sense of humor and a love of history - just a very, very cute person.'

Tragic: This is believed to be the last photoshoot of the actress, taken in 2012

Earlier this week, DailyMail.com obtained photos from what is believed to be the last professional shoot Peterson took part in - taken in 2012. 

The photos show the 80s bombshell in thigh-high leather boots posing with a snake and in different custom cars.

In the grungy images, the mother-of-two is all-but unrecognizable to fresh-faced Cindy Mancini, the Arizona cheerleader she played in 1987's Can't Buy Me Love - a role that would make her a superstar.  

Final shoot: Peterson agreed to pose up for the photos in 2012 so long as snapper Ryan Harstock didn't 'photoshop the hell out of me'

The images were taken by Ryan Harstock, photographer for RockHardChic.com, who said Peterson had no intention of posing up on the day but then finally agreed.

Harstock said Peterson had arrived at an event he was also working at to help out with hair and makeup.

She agreed to pose up for the photos so long as Harstock didn't 'photoshop the hell out of me'. 

'So here she is in her natural beauty as per her request,' Harstock posted to his Facebook page.

'She was a beautiful lady inside and out and I'm honored to have known her over the past few years. She will truly be missed.'

Harstock posted the pictures to his facebook page saying: 'So here she is in her natural beauty as per her request'

Peterson's body was discovered at her home in an apartment complex in Greeley about 6pm Sunday after she had not been seen for two days.

The cause of her death is currently unknown. 

Peterson was born in Greeley and would have been 44 yesterday.

Police responded to Peterson's home to check on her during a well-being call after there was a report she had missed an appointment. 

Her father James confirmed to TMZ that they had become concerned when they didn't hear from her for a few days.

Fresh faced: Peterson playing Cindy Mancini in Can't Buy Me Love which shot her to fame 

The late Amanda Peterson stars in film Can't Buy Me Love

Her dad said she had been suffering from 'several medical issues' over the past two years.

'She had some illness and a sleep apnea problem that may have contributed,' he said.

He added that she had, at one stage, been living in a house with mold issues, but that she had moved out around a year ago. 

The Tribune reported that her door was unlocked when officers arrived and found her dead inside the house about 6pm on Sunday evening.  

Her most famous role was opposite Patrick Dempsey in the 1987 teen romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love.

In it she played cheerleader Cindi Mancini, whom nerdy high-school student Ronald Miller (Dempsey) pays $1,000 to pretend to be his girlfriend for a month.

In the end, the two wind up falling in love. 

The film became an instant classic among teenagers, much like many of the John Hughes movies of the same time period.

It also made Peterson a star at a very young age, even earning her a Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy.

Peterson is pictured here in Explorers with Ethan Hawke, Jason Presson, and River Phoenix

She began her film career aged nine as one of the orphans in Annie, having auditioned for and almost landing the lead role.

Her part was supposed to be minor and largely background, but she gained notice with her delivery of just one line during the film's popular song 'Sandy'.  

At age 14 she starred alongside River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke in the sci-fi fantasy Explorers, which was both boys' film debuts. 

Phoenix would die as a result of drug-induced heart failure less than 10 years later at the age of 23.

She also appeared in episodes of Father Murphy, Silver Spoons, and played Sunny Sisk in the NBC drama series A Year In The Life.

For her work on Life she won the Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Drama Series prize at the 1988 Young Artists Awards.

Peterson starred with Patrick Dempsey in romantic comedy Can't Buy Me Love

Her last movie was the 1994 fantasy/family film Windrunner, after which she decided to leave the entertainment industry and move to Colorado.

Just a few years before that she also had a bit part on Doogie Howser M.D., the show that first introduced the world to Neil Patrick Harris.

Countless celebs shared their sadness over Peterson's death on social media Monday.

'When I was younger, I used to want to be #AmandaPeterson. I even asked my mom for a white leather fringe jacket #RipAmandaPeterson,' wrote Sarah Michelle Gellar.

'Cindy Mancini was my first crush. RIP Amanda Peterson,' said Scrubs and Clueless star Donald Faison. 

Scott Foley meanwhile took to Twitter, writing; 'RIP Amanda Peterson. The teen in me is heartbroken.' 

According to her IMDb profile, she began studying for a Masters degree at Colorado State University in 2011, and was working on her autobiography.

She is survived by her daughter Chloe, eight, who lives with her father. 

Even early in her career she seemed to enjoy Colorado more than Hollywood, saying during one interview in 1987: 'I separate both of those lives also because I’m from Colorado, so I have two different lives basically.

'Yes, it’s true, you have to be popular in this business in order to get work... That’s called "being well-known."

'But it’s different when you separate that from life and work. Work is different, because you have to do it in essence.'  

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