She began her career as an actress in 1986, debuting in the film Thrashin', before appearing in a number of films, including Dudes (1987), Cherry 2000 (1988), The Blue Iguana (1988), Permanent Record (1988), Liebestraum (1991), Highway to Hell (1992), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Jane Austen's Mafia (1998), and The Little Vampire (2000).

[1] She won the Wilhemina Modeling Agency's "Most Beautiful Girl in the World" contest on March 12, 1985, in Sydney, Australia.

Gidley starred in many films throughout the 1990s, including Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a prequel to the short-lived television series; Disturbed, alongside Malcolm McDowell; Highway to Hell; the comedy Jane Austen's Mafia!

[citation needed] She played another recurring character, Teri Miller on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

[3] She starred as Audrey Westin in the short-lived mystery series Strange Luck which lasted one season.