Together with her younger sister, Crystal McKellar, she began acting at a young age in her mother's dance studio. In 1982 the family moved to Los Angeles and a few years later she appeared in her first commercial. A few guest appearances in Unbekannte Dimensionen (1985) was followed by her breakthrough in Wunderbare Jahre (1988). She has had good grades in math and French. In her spare time she likes to go skiing, swimming and surfing.