Marley Shelton began an acting career in the early 1990s, appearing on various TV shows, such as the CBS sitcom “The Family Man,” the ABC hit series “Family Matters,” “Camp Wilder” and “Bodies of Evidence.” In 1991, Shelton made her film debut in the movie “Grand Canyon,” wherein she was billed under the name Marlee Shelton. She then landed a gig on the CBS soap “Angel Falls” in 1993, followed by a supporting role on the movie “The Sandlot.”
Through the late 1990s, Marley Shelton appeared on the series “Hercules in the Underworld” and several films, such as the fantasy film “Warriors of Virtue,” “Pleasantville” alongside Tobey Maguire, “Never Been Kissed” with Drew Barrymore, “Lured Innocence,” and “The Bachelor” opposite Renee Zellweger. Her big break came when she was cast as the teen daughter Tricia in the 1995 Oliver Stone biopic “Nixon.”
In 2001, Shelton landed her first starring role in the comedy flick “Sugar and Spice,” where she played a pregnant cheerleader who commits a bank robbery with her squad to support her unborn baby’s finances. That same year, Marley appeared alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in the film “Bubble Boy” and the horror flick “Valentine” with Denise Richards. She also landed a supporting role in the romantic comedy film “Just a Kiss” in 2002 and was ranked #98 in the 2002 Stuff Magazine “102 Sexiest Women in the World.”
Marley also worked with her sister Samantha Shelton in the 2002 film “Moving Allan,” a dark comedy directed by their dad Christopher Shelton. In 2003, Marley Shelton worked alongside Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning in the comedy film “Uptown Girls,” followed by a brief yet memorable part on “Sin City.” In 2004, she worked on the comedy “Grand Theft Parsons” and joined the cast of the NBC drama “The West Wing,” portraying a former feature reporter. Marley Shelton was then cast in the Tony Goldwyn movie “The Last Kiss” and “American Dreamz.” In 2005, Shelton lent her voice to the character Betsy on the episode “Deacon Stan, Jesus Man” of “American Dad!”
In 2007, Sin City director Robert Rodriguez re-hired Shelton for his collaboration with Quentin Tarantino on the two-part “Grindhouse.” Aside from appearing on the 2008 films “Women in Trouble,” “Untitled,” and “W,” Marley Shelton also joined the cast of the CBS series “Eleventh Hour,” portraying the lead character FBI Special Agent Rachel Young. She is scheduled to appear on other 2009 films, including the thriller flick “A Perfect Getaway” and the basketball drama “Our Lady of Victory.”