Background
Born in Powder Springs, Georgia, Lively was born into a family of actors. Her mother, stepfather and all four siblings are, or have been, in the entertainment industry. She is the daughter of talent manager Elaine Lively (née McAlpin) and Elaine"s first husband Ronnie Lively (Ronald Otis Lively).
Career
Lively is best known for her role in the film Teen Witch, as well as for her roles in the television shows Doogie Howser, Doctor of Medicine, Twin Peaks and Saving Grace. Lively began her career as a child actress. At age six, she made her screen debut in the television movie Summer of My German Soldier in 1978.
Throughout the 1980s, she appeared in several television shows including Silver Spoons and Punky Brewster.
She appeared in feature films Wildcats, The Karate Kid, Participant III, and Not Quite Human. After being cast as Jessica Andrews in The Karate Kid III in 1989, producers were forced to drop her character being the new love interest for the film"s protagonist Daniel LaRusso.
This was because Lively was only 17 at the time of filming and still a minor, while Ralph Macchio (LaRusso) was 27 (LaRusso"s on-screen age for the film was 18). This caused scenes that called for Daniel and Jessica to romantically kiss to be re-written so that the pair only developed a close friendship.
In the 1990s, Lively had recurring roles on Twin Peaks, Doogie Howser, Doctor of Medicine and Chicago Hope.
In 1996, she appeared as Lane McKenzie, one of three lead characters in the short-lived World Bank drama Savannah. In 2003, Lively played NCIS Special Agent Vivian Blackadder in the Judge Advocate General episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" (the backdoor pilot for NCIS). In 2008, Lively appeared alongside Holly Hunter in an episode of Saving Grace and also had a role in Cold Case.
In 2010, she appeared alongside Twin Peaks costars in the Dual Spires episode of Psychology.
She is currently starring in the television series Gortimer Gibbon"s Life On Normal Street for Amazon Studios. She plays Gortimer Gibbon"s mother.
Membership
Initially a member of Special Agent Gibbs" team, she never appeared in the spin-off series due to the fact that at the time of Blackadder"s debut, there was an overwhelming negative reaction to Blackadder and as such, Lively was dropped from the series.