She is known for her performance as Chris in the Steve Miner-directed 3D horror film Friday the 13th Part III (1982)—which debuted at number one at the United States box office.
On television, Kimmell portrayed Dawn Marshall in an episode of the soap opera Another World (1980) before reprising the role in the first season of the spin-off series Texas (1980).
She also had guest appearances on series such as Charlie's Angels (1977), Diff'rent Strokes (1981–84), The Facts of Life (1982), Days of Our Lives (1983–84), Hotel (1986), and The Young and the Restless (1984).
[1] She returned to Kingsburg her senior year, where she graduated Bullard High School in Fresno as valedictorian of her class in 1977 and signed with Nina Blanchard's modeling agency.
The producer (Frank Mancuso Jr.) and director (Steve Miner) contacted her and asked her to star in the film as Chris Higgins, a character she describes as "a young college girl who takes her friends up in the mountains.
She appeared in one episode of Charlie's Angels (1977), Eight Is Enough (1977), Out of the Blue (1979), Bosom Buddies (1981), Code Red (1981), The Facts of Life (1982), Happy Days (1982), Private Benjamin (1982), Fame (1983), Alice (1983), Anatomy of a Scene (1983), The A-Team (1983), Dynasty (1983), Hollywood Beat (1984), Hotel (1986), You Again?
She appeared in Rivals (1981), Midnight Offerings (1981) as Lily, Return of the Beverly Hillbillies (1981), By Dawn's Early Light (1990), and Sins of the Mother (2001).