As Dr. Samantha 'Sam' Waters in the NBC series "Profiler" (1996-99), Ally Walker was a brilliant forensic scientist with a gift for visualizing the crimes. It was coming full-circle for the attractive blonde who gave up a potential career in genetics and biology after a producer overheard her banter in an L.A. restaurant and offered her an acting job. The producer wasn't kidding. The part was in a 1988 film called "Aloha Summer", and although Walker's work ended up on the cutting room floor, she was hooked on acting. Other film roles followed. She was in the ensemble cast of "Singles" (1992), and that same year was Jean-Claude Van Damme's leading lady in "Universal Soldier". Walker played a young mental patient with hidden knowledge in "When the Bough Breaks" (1994) and had the relatively small but showy role of Peter Gallagher's self-absorbed fiancee in "While You Were Sleeping" (1995).
The small screen has also provided on-going employment. Walker was Jessy, the divorced single-mother member of the Emergency Service Unit in "True Blue" (NBC, 1989-90). In the short-lived "Moon Over Miami" (ABC, 1993), she was a "It Happened One Night"-type heiress craving adventure. Walker made her TV-movie debut in 1989 in "Swimsuit" (NBC), in which she was one of the perfect model candidates. Ironically, the actress had done some modeling in the late 80s, although she never truly committed to the work as a career. She did, however, land a contract with Clairol, appearing in a series of TV commercials for the cosmetics giant.