Raised in Philadelphia and in nearby Sewell, New Jersey, southeast of Camden

Moved to New York's Hell's Kitchen district

Tended bar at the Kamikaze Club with Bruce Willis

First professional audition landed her "Vision Quest"

Feature debut, playing female lead in "Vision Quest"

Played scene-stealing dominatrix (kinky sculptress) in Martin Scorsese's "After Hours"

Portrayed Russian spy opposite Anthony Edwards in "Gotcha!"

Episodic TV debut, guest spot on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (NBC)

Was a standout as a runaway wife opposite John Lone in Alan Rudolph's flawed period piece "The Moderns"

TV-miniseries debut, "The Neon Empire" (Showtime)

Played the female lead in "Queens Logic", an independent "Big Chill" clone

Garnered attention with her portrayal of a femme fatale in John Dahl's noirish "The Last Seduction"; deemed ineligible for Oscar consideration since film debuted in USA on HBO

Played thankless maid's role in Edwards' feature directing debut, "Charlie's Ghost Story"

Was completely wasted in "Larger than Life", starring Bill Murray

Reprised her man-eater persona in the guise of a psychologist with a secret life in William Friedkin's critically-blasted "Jade", co-starring David Caruso and Chazz Palminteri

Starred as tough, no-nonsense outlaw in TNT movie "The Desperate Trail"

Reteamed with Dahl for the disappointing "Unforgettable", playing a change-of-pace nerdy lab scientist who has found a way of transferring memory by injection

Gave her career a much-needed boost as a Manhattan medical examiner in "Men in Black", despite being underused as the female lead

Played an airline attendant who was one of the few interesting elements in "Kicked in the Head"

Reteamed with Caruso for the Movie Channel's "Body Count"

Cast as the "last scion" of the Jesus line in Kevin Smith's scattershot "Dogma"

Acted in Mike Nichols' "Which Planet Are You From?", starring Garry Shandling

Starred as a bored nursing home employee opposite Paul Newman's "retired" bank robber in "Where the Money Is"