Smith was born in Los Angeles, California. Her first film appearance was in the short The Birth of Aphrodite, after a friend of her mother suggested her for the role. This led to supporting roles in other films, including the cult classic B-movies Caged Heat, Phantom of the Paradise, The Swinging Cheerleaders, Revenge of the Cheerleaders, The Pom Pom Girls, The Incredible Melting Man, Laserblast and a cameo role in Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke. Perhaps her most striking role in a major release was in a violent bedroom scene opposite a near unknown Sylvester Stallone in the 1975 version of the Phillip Marlowe classic Farewell My Lovely starring Robert Mitchum. Her starring debut was in the cult horror film Lemora.