She attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) and graduated from University of Southern California (USC) with a degree in film.
She began her career appearing in low-budget comedies and genre films include, Phantasm II, Dr. Hackenstein and Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).
In 1990, Travis played a female leading role in the science fiction horror film Hardware opposite Dylan McDermott.
The following years, Travis played supporting roles in many films, include Mystery Men (1999), Traffic (2000), Ghost World (2001), Bandits (2001), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Venom (2005), and Easy A (2010).
In 1998, she starred on the short-lived UPN comedy series, Love Boat: The Next Wave as Cruise Director Suzanne Zimmerman.