Snyder was raised in Wilmette, Illinois and attended North Shore Country Day School.
Snyder began her professional acting career while attending Northwestern University.
Amongst her other film appearances, she's best known for her starring roles in Weird Science (1985), Prettykill (1987), Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), and Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988).
Her final television appearance was a 1996 episode of Homicide: Life on the Street.
Snyder also appeared on stage, in the Los Angeles production The Perfect People of Pepper Street.