Applegate made her TV debut with her mother in the soap opera Days of Our Lives and a commercial for Playtex baby bottles at three and five months respectively. Her first big screen appearance followed at age 7 when she was seen in the 1979 film, Jaws of Satan (a.k.a. King Cobra), followed by 1981's Beatlemania. She debuted in a television movie as young Grace Kelly in the biopic, Grace Kelly (1983) and appeared in her first TV series in Showtime's political comedy, Washingtoon (1985), in which she played a Congressman's daughter. She was also spotted as a guest in the shows, Father Murphy (1981), Charles in Charge (1984 and 1985), and Silver Spoons (1986).
