Before launching her career as a self-employed artist specializing in bronze sculpture, Leslie Stefanson served as a successful model and movie actress. After graduating from Barnard College in New York, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature, Leslie Stefanson worked as a fashion model with Wilhelmina Models agency. She earned one of her most notable roles in 1997 as a model in a Lee Jeans commercial.

In the meantime, Leslie Stefanson established herself in the film industry. In 1994, she landed her first role co-starring with Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland in the comedy The Cowboy Way. Over the next few years, directors cast her in supporting roles that included Sara Myers in The Mirror Has Two Faces, starring Jeff Bridges and Barbra Streisand. Additionally, Ms. Stefanson had the opportunity to work on a project with Walt Disney Pictures and Robin Williams in 1997, playing Sylvia in Flubber. In the same year, audiences saw her in the Oscar-winning hit As Good As It Gets, in which she appeared as a waitress employed at Café 24 alongside the heroine played by Helen Hunt.

Leslie Stefanson remains renowned for her role as Captain Elizabeth Campbell, the title character in The General’s Daughter. The 1999 hit film featured a cast that included John Travolta, Madeleine Stowe, James Cromwell, Timothy Hutton, and James Woods. The General’s Daughter also featured Clarence Williams III, the African-American actor famous for playing Linc Hayes on the late 1960s and early 1970s TV series The Mod Squad, and veteran film director John Frankenheimer. While Ms. Stefanson had a number of film and television appearances afterward. Her role in the 2002 film The Stickup became significant for other reasons: she met film and TV star James Spader during that project. They later had a son together.