She first attracted attention as the first wife of Bruce Springsteen and later for her role as Francesca "Frankie" Reed on the television drama series Sisters (1991–1996).

[5] Phillips's family relocated to Oregon in her early years, settling in the affluent Portland suburb of Lake Oswego, where she was raised.

[3][6] Phillips graduated from Lake Oswego High School and attended Brooks College in Long Beach, California.

The two met in October 1984 and were subsequently married in her native Lake Oswego shortly after midnight on Monday, May 13, 1985, surrounded by intense media attention.

She appeared in Odd Jobs (1986), Sweet Lies (1988), and Seven Hours to Judgment (1988), and starred opposite Chevy Chase in Fletch Lives and John Ritter in Skin Deep both in 1989.