[4] She later made guest starring appearances on television series such as The Equalizer, The Twilight Zone, Head of the Class, Miami Vice and Freddy's Nightmares.

[5] The following year she appeared in the made-for-television movie Police Story: Monster Manor, and was regular cast member in the short-lived comedy series, The Thorns.

[6] In 1989, Petty co-starred in the made-for-television movie Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder and from 1989 to 1990 was regular cast member in the Fox crime drama, Booker.

[7] In 1990, Petty made her film debut as Robin Williams's wannabe fashion designer girlfriend in the dark comedy Cadillac Man.

The following year, Petty played the surfer who taught Keanu Reeves how to surf in the 1991 action thriller Point Break directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

[13][14] In 1995, Petty played the title role in Tank Girl, an adaptation of the British cult comic book of the same name, directed by Rachel Talalay.

[7] The following year, Petty returned to television starring and creating the short-lived sitcom Lush Life with her friend Karyn Parsons, but it was canceled after five episodes.

[6] Petty made guest-starring appearances in a number of television series, include Profiler, Star Trek: Voyager, ER and NYPD Blue.

She starred in a series of television commercials created by Merkley Newman Harty's Steve Bowen for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association's "Go, Baby, Go" advertising campaign in 1998.

Although she was originally cast as Lt. Lenina Huxley in Demolition Man, disagreements over the character's direction led producer Joel Silver to recast the role with Sandra Bullock.