She is best known for her roles with Tim Burton: as Vampira in Ed Wood (1994), the Martian Girl in Mars Attacks (1996), Lady Crane in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Nova in Planet of the Apes (2001).

Marie went on to appear briefly in Let's Get Lost, Weber's documentary on the life of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker, and had a small role in Woody Allen's film Alice.

She has also had her own photographs exhibited and published in magazines; Vanity Fair ran side-by-side photos taken by her and her partner, film director Tim Burton.

Marie appeared in several of Burton's films in key roles to bring a sense and feel of mysticism, spirit and sensuality, including portraying actress/1950s television horror movie hostess Vampira in the 1994 biopic Ed Wood.

Nightmare director Henry Selick credited Lisa as a good influence on Tim’s personal life, with her pushing him to eat healthier.

The actress and director originally adopted the dog after finding it as a stray wandering the streets of Tokyo, Japan while they were traveling.Though they were engaged for the vast majority of their relationship, Tim and Lisa never officially made it down the aisle, and just lived together.

She has starred in films alongside Matthew Modine, Jack Nicholson, Christopher Walken, Martin Landau, Johnny Depp, Tim Roth, Bill Murray, Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Pierce Brosnan, Annette Bening, Danny DeVito, Michael J.