At the peak of her fame, she was an it girl according to The New York Times and GQ once named her the Sexiest Woman in the World.

Rayder was engaged to Red Hot Chili Peppers bass player, Flea, with whom she has one child.

[6] As a teenager, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota,[7] a large city close to her home town, where she was first approached by a model scout who spurred her interest in the industry.

[5] In 1998, she was in high demand and her booking prices were sometimes bid up to $25,000 by clients hoping to pay her enough to cancel other appearances.

[22] Rayder is, along with Cheryl Tiegs and Melissa Keller, one of several models associated with Minnesota who have made a name in the Swimsuit Issue.

[26] In 2004, she was one of the featured models (along with Linda Evangelista, Patti Hansen and her daughters Alexandra and Theodora Richards, Twiggy, and Beverly Johnson) in the 50-model 50th Anniversary Ann Taylor ad campaign photographed by Annie Leibovitz.

[31][32] As part of her comeback, Rayder performed covergirl work for the February 2009 Vogue España and one of fourteen alternative covers for the September 2008 V magazine.

Her advertisement portfolio includes Givenchy, Valentino, Lagerfeld, Chanel,[35] Gucci,[36] Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, DKNY, Gap, and Tommy Hilfiger.

Rayder has also worked for designers such as Anne Klein, Matthew Williamson, Zac Posen, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Carolina Herrera, and Michael Kors, and appeared in a number of magazines, including Elle, Vogue, The Face, Photo, Harper's Bazaar, Allure, Rebel, and Marie Claire.

[6] In 2002 Rayder was falsely linked to Nicolas Cage after his relationship with Lisa Marie Presley ended and when she was dating his cousin Roman Coppola.

[47] In 2004, Rayder started dating Red Hot Chili Peppers' bass player, Flea.

[48] On October 26, 2005 Rayder gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Sunny Bebop Balzary.

[49] The song, "Hard to Concentrate" from the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 2006 album, Stadium Arcadium was written by Anthony Kiedis as a wedding proposal for Flea and Rayder.

[7][50] In the September 2010 issue of C magazine, Rayder is featured with a group of women friends known as "The L.A. Ladies Choir" which meets at her and Flea's house in Los Feliz.