Shields made her acting debut with a guest appearance on the drama series In Plain Sight (2009), and subsequently starred in a supporting role in the television film Beyond the Blackboard (2011).

[3] She then made her screen debut for playing Lisa Rogan on the USA drama series In Plain Sight, a minor character seen in the episode "In My Humboldt Opinion" which was released in 2009.

[29][6] In February 2015, Shields was announced as one of the celebrities to compete on season 20 of the reality series Dancing with the Stars, where her professional partner was Mark Ballas.

[33] Dancing With the Stars performances In 2018, Shields headlined the coming-of-age independent film Woodstock or Bust as Lorian.

[35] Her performance gained praise from critics, and won her an award at the Artemis Women in Action Film Festival.

[36] In December of that year, it was announced that Shields was cast in the role of Serena Baker on the Netflix original series Spinning Out.