She is the daughter of Marguerite (née Richards) and Peter A. Peyser, who at the time was mayor of Irvington, and later a five-term United States Congressman in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

After graduating in 1973 with a degree in theater, she made her professional debut by joining a Boston improv group called The Proposition.

She also gained experience as "a glorified chorus girl" in Off-Broadway productions such as Diamond Studs, and performed in the original production of Lanford Wilson's The Hot l Baltimore,[2] and well as, more recently, in Ethel Sings - The Unsung Song of Ethel Rosenberg at the Off-Broadway Samuel Beckett Theatre.

She also appeared in smaller guest roles in numerous TV series, including B. J. and the Bear, Barnaby Jones, The Incredible Hulk, Knight Rider, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, Tour of Duty, Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, MacGyver , Criminal Minds, and The Mentalist.

Peyser continued acting in theater in Los Angeles, in which she portrayed the lead role in A Moment in the Sun, Red Flags and The Twilight of the Golds.

[citation needed] Peyser co-produced, wrote and directed the documentary Trying to Get Good: The Jazz Odyssey of Jack Sheldon (2008), which features interviews with Clint Eastwood, Billy Crystal, Merv Griffin, Chris Botti, Dave Frishberg, Tierney Sutton and others.

She also wrote, produced, filmed, and directed the feature documentary Stillpoint: Life Inside a Zen Community (2014) about a community in the hills above Santa Cruz, California of which "Umi", British former radio deejay Tom Lodge, was the master,[4] and Peyser's sister, Caroline, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis and was dubbed "Mouna" by Umi, was one of the members.