Early on she appeared in Dazed and Confused and later Chasing Amy.
She moved from Arkansas to go to college in San Diego.
She began a relationship with Kevin Smith while filming Mallrats, and then starred in Chasing Amy which he said was an homage to her.
She dated actor Vince Vaughn in 1998 after co-starring in the film, A Cool, Dry Place.
She started her film career through her first role in Exorcist II: The Heretic' (1977), the sequel to William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973).