A top teenaged model of the late 1970s and romantic lead of 80s and 90s film and TV, Cates began her film career in teen movies ("Paradise", "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" both 1982, and "Private School" 1983) before winning attention in 1984 for two very different roles: as Zach Galligan's sweet-natured girlfriend with a tragic Christmas memory in Joe Dante's "Gremlins"; and as Lilli, a vengeful actress out to destroy the mother-she-never-knew who abandoned her at birth, in the sensationally trashy ABC TV miniseries, "Lace". ("All right, which one of you dumb bitches is my mother?") Cates returned to TV for the somewhat less distinguished 1985 followup, "Lace II" ("Which one of you bastards is my father?") and, some years later, "Vaclav Havel's Largo Desolato" (1990) for PBS's "Great Performances". Her film credits include "Bright Lights, Big City" (1988), as Michael J Fox's estranged wife, "Shag: The Movie" (1988), Dante's antic sequel "Gremlins 2" (1990), and "Drop Dead Fred" (1991). Cates has also been active on the stage in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. She appeared in "Bodies, Rest & Motion" (1993), teamed with Bridget Fonda, Tim Roth, and Eric Stoltz.
The daughter of producer-director Joseph Cates and niece of director Gilbert Cates, Cates is married to actor Kevin Kline, with whom she co-starred in "Princess Cariboo" (1994).