A wide-eyed, dark-haired performer, Jami Gertz won a nationwide talent search sponsored by producer Norman Lear and was cast at age 16 in the breakout role of preppy Muffy Tepperman in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Square Pegs" (1982-83) featuring Sarah Jessica Parker. With her parents' permission, the young actress left her home in Illinois and settled in L.A. to play the snobbish Muffy. Following the demise of "Square Pegs", Gertz went on to a recurring role on NBC's "The Facts of Life" in 1983 and a co-starring berth on the equally short-lived John Stamos vehicle "Dreams" (CBS, 1984). Although she had made her feature film debut in the notorious bomb "Endless Love" (1981) and had supporting roles in "Sixteen Candles" and "Alphabet City" (both 1984), the actress landed her first starring role opposite Kevin Bacon in "Quicksilver" (1986). Later that year, Gertz was seen both on stage (in "Out of Gas on Lover's Leap" in L.A.) and on screen (in "Solarbabies") opposite Jason Patric, with whom she also co-starred in "The Lost Boys" (1987), Joel Schumacher's stylish vampire thriller. She went on to do fine work in films that didn't click with either critics or the public. Gertz was impressive as a vacuous, rich party girl in the drug-soaked world of "Less Than Zero" (1987), as Kirk Cameron's fellow college debate team member in "Listen to Me" (1989) and as Kirstie Alley's critical sister in "Sibling Rivalry" (1990).
Gertz once again tackled weekly series as the youngest of a trio of sisters forced by circumstances to share an abode in the middling ABC sitcom "Sibs" (1991-92). She had a rare lead in the feature comedy "Jersey Girl" (1992), but it barely received distribution. Gertz fared somewhat better supporting old pros Katharine Hepburn and Anthony Quinn in the CBS telepic "This Can't Be Love" (1994). Although she had taken time off for motherhood, the actress resumed her big screen career with a fine comic turn as Bill Paxton's spoiled fiancee in the actioner "Twister" (1996). Gertz then turned up in a recurring role as a psychologist who was a potential love interest for Anthony Edwards' Dr. Mark Greene on the NBC medical drama "ER" in 1997 and garnered an Emmy nomination as a morally upright lawyer in the Fox series "Ally McBeal" in 2000. She was also seen as an unstable drug addict in the independent feature "Lip Service/Kat & Allison" (2001).