She then attended Punahou School in Honolulu, graduating in 1980,[11] and studied drama and theater at the University of Southern California.

[12] While living in Australia, she was discovered at age 16 by a fashion photographer who helped her get work in commercials and other small parts.

Her other roles included SpaceCamp (1986), Twins[15] (1988) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire (1996) with Tom Cruise, Jane Aubrey in For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner and Kate Newell, and in Holy Man (1998) with Eddie Murphy and Jeff Goldblum.

She played the girlfriend of her husband John Travolta's character Terl in the film Battlefield Earth,[16] for which she received "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 21st Golden Raspberry Awards.

She appeared in the crime thriller Death Sentence (2007), in which she played Helen Hume, the wife of Kevin Bacon's character Nick.

It was shot in Nova Scotia and featured Ron Eldard, Britt Robertson, Michael Riley, Jamie Johnston and Geordie Brown.

[24][8] Preston was briefly engaged to Charlie Sheen in 1990,[8][25] but ended the relationship shortly after an accidental gun discharge left shrapnel in her body.

[34][35] In 2003, Preston appeared on The Montel Williams Show to promote L. Ron Hubbard's Purification Rundown, which she credited with helping her son.

[39] On January 23, 2009, three people were arrested in the Bahamas in connection with a multimillion-dollar extortion plot against Travolta and Preston concerning the circumstances of their son's death.

[40][41] Travolta and Preston confirmed longstanding speculations when they testified that their son had autism and suffered regular seizures.

[43] On July 12, 2020, Preston died at the age of 57 at her home in Clearwater, Florida,[44] two years after she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.