After graduating she joined New World Pictures as executive assistant to Roger Corman, the company president. She worked her way up through various administrative positions and eventually became involved in producton. She formed her own production company, Pacific Western Productions, in 1982 and went on to produce a number of box-office hits including The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), and The Abyss (1989). All were directed by James Cameron, whom she later married. They were divorced after a few years.
Has a child with Brian De Palma: Lolita, born September 19, 1991. Owns a yacht named Double Feature. Is close friends with Martha Coolidge and goes to her ranch sometimes to ride the horses she keeps there. One of her hobbies is scuba diving and she set up two live-aboard dive boat businesses, the Truk Aggressor and the Palau Aggressor, both based in Micronesia. Graduated from Stanford University. Is an only child.