In 1959, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female for the film The Light in the Forest.

A year later, she was again nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female for the film Blue Denim.

Her father was Irish and her mother, a native of New England, was of English, Scottish, Welsh and German ancestry.

[1] Her parents divorced when she was a child, and her mother worked as a waitress until Lynley's income from modeling was enough to sustain the family.

She then appeared on live TV shows, the Goodyear Television Playhouse, Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Danger Route.

[4] She appeared on the April 22, 1957, cover of Life identified as "Carol Lynley, 15, Busy Career Girl" at age 15.

[9] In 1960, she was again nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer – Female for the film Blue Denim.

[9] She acted in 20th Century Fox productions Holiday for Lovers, Blue Denim, Hound-Dog Man (all in 1959), Return to Peyton Place (1961) and The Stripper (1963).

[1] She is best known for her film roles in Return to Peyton Place (1961), the sex comedy Under the Yum Yum Tree (1963), the drama The Cardinal (1963), the romantic drama The Pleasure Seekers (1964), the thriller Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972), in which she lip-synced the Oscar-winning song "The Morning After" (her singing voice was dubbed by studio singer Renee Armand).

[15] In 2000, in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Lynley discussed the difficulty faced by middle-aged actresses in finding roles.

She predicted she'd have a comeback in old age, stating, "I don't mean to sound conceited, but I am a very talented actress, and I have my head screwed on right."