Mathis began acting professionally at the age of sixteen,[3] her first job was a commercial for "Always Slender Pads - Just For Teens".[1] Her first starring role in a feature film was that of Nora in Pump Up the Volume (1990), opposite Christian Slater, whom she briefly dated at the time.[2] She appeared in the television movies Extreme Close-Up, 83 Hours 'Til Dawn, and To My Daughter in 1990. Mathis and Slater also had voice roles in the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). She next appeared in the comedy This Is My Life (1992), written and directed by Nora Ephron, playing an insecure teenager.[3] Mathis appeared in the play Fortinbras in New York City in October 1992.[4] Her film Super Mario Bros. (1993), where she played Princess Daisy from the popular Nintendo video game Super Mario Bros., was a box office bomb.

Mathis began acting professionally at the age of sixteen,[3] her first job was a commercial for \"Always Slender Pads - Just For Teens\".[1] Her first starring role in a feature film was that of Nora in Pump Up the Volume (1990), opposite Christian Slater, whom she briefly dated at the time.[2] She appeared in the television movies Extreme Close-Up, 83 Hours \'Til Dawn, and To My Daughter in 1990. Mathis and Slater also had voice roles in the animated film FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). She next appeared in the comedy This Is My Life (1992), written and directed by Nora Ephron, playing an insecure teenager.[3] Mathis appeared in the play Fortinbras in New York City in October 1992.[4] Her film Super Mario Bros. (1993), where she played Princess Daisy from the popular Nintendo video game Super Mario Bros., was a box office bomb.

The Actor's Guild... awarded presented the award for best supporting femal actress
Pump up the volume won the golden space needle award fir the best film alsp