Kristy Swanson is an American actress born in Mission Viejo, California, a planned community in Orange County. She developed an interest in acting at an early age and started pursuing roles in television commercials at the age of 9. She received acting lessons from "The Actors Workshop" and began appearing in one-shot roles in television in 1984.
Swanson gained attention for her role as Stephanie Brandon in the police procedural "Cagney & Lacey" and was nominated for a Young performer award. She had supporting roles in the television film "Mr. Boogedy" and the teen comedy-drama film "Pretty in Pink".
Swanson's first speaking role in a film was in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and she had a minor role in the science fiction horror film "Deadly Friend". Her next starring role was in the psychological horror film "Flowers in the Attic", where she played Cathy Dollanganger, the elder sister among the captives.
Swanson joined the cast of the soap opera Knots Landing in 1987 and appeared in a total of 8 episodes. She had her first main role in a television series in the short-lived medical drama "Nightingales" in 1989, where she played student nurse Rebecca "Becky" Granger.
Swanson's film career continued with roles in the romantic comedy "Dream Trap" and the fantasy comedy "Mannequin Two: On the Move". She had a supporting role in the comedy film "Hot Shots!" and co-starred in the horror comedy "Highway to Hell".
In 1992, Swanson played the leading role of Buffy in the horror comedy film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", which was modestly successful at the box office. She had a supporting role in the sports drama film "The Program" and played the role of heiress Natalie Voss in the action comedy "The Chase".
Swanson had a co-starring role in the university-themed drama film "Higher Learning" in 1995 and appeared in the superhero adaptation "The Phantom" in 1996. She had a co-starring role in the Mafia-themed black comedy "8 Heads in a Duffel Bag" in 1997 and was part of the cast in the disaster film "Ground Control" in 1998.
In the 2000s, Swanson's career declined, and she appeared infrequently in television series and direct-to-video films. She married her boyfriend Lloyd Eisler in 2009 and had a son. In 2010, she appeared in the Christian film "What If..." and continued to work in television films and direct-to-video films throughout the 2010s.
In the 2020s, Swanson continues to regularly appear in films, having no intention to retire yet. Several of her older films remain popular, and she still has a fan following.
