The daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, her first role was playing 10-year-old Emily in the film Loverboy (2005).

As an adult, Bacon appeared in the films Wishin' and Hopin' (2014), Ana Maria in Novela Land (2015), Charlie Says (2018), The Last Summer (2019), and Wyrm (2019), and the television series Scream (2016), Story of a Girl (2017), 13 Reasons Why (2017–2018), Narcos: Mexico (2020), Mare of Easttown (2021), As We See It (2022) and the horror film Smile (2022).

Asked about the choice, he said that he made the decision as a director, not as a father, because he believed his daughter was perfect for the role, and "Sosie was cool.

[13] In 2014, Bacon was cast in the leading female role of the independent film Off Season, opposite Chance Kelly, which was released in 2017.

[14] Following up her role in 13 Reasons Why, Bacon was cast in Here and Now, a 2018-debuting HBO family drama series from award-winning writer-producer Alan Ball, as Kristen, the youngest daughter of a couple played by Tim Robbins and Holly Hunter.