Born Kristen Swanson in Mission Viejo, California in 1969, Kristy has been acting since she landed her first commercial (for a dollhouse) at age nine. By the time she was 13, she had more than thirty commercials to her credit, and had landed her first television series, Dreamfinders, for the Disney Channel. Kristy soon convinced her parents to move to Hollywood so she could pursue her dream of acting.

She continued working on commercials before landing small roles in two of John Hughes' films, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Pretty in Pink, both for Paramount Pictures. She was then cast in her first leading film role, Wes Craven's thriller, Deadly Friend for Warner Bros. From there, she went on to co-star with Academy Award-winning actress Louis Fletcher in Flowers of the Atlantic, a feature film for New World Pictures. Additional feature film credits include Twentieth Century Fox's Hot Shots with Charlie Sheen and Cary Elwes, and The Program with Craig Sheffer and James Caan for Disney/Touchstone. Tackling her most controversial role, Kristy portrayed a college student discovering her sexuality when she starred in John Singleton's film Higher Learning.

She was also seen starring opposite Charlie Sheen in Twentieth Century Fox's The Chase, opposite Billy Zane in Paramount Pictures' The Phantom, and in Orion Pictures' Eight Heads in a Duffle Bag, co-starring Joe Pesci and David Spade. Other feature film credits include Tinsle Town with Joe Pantoliano for director Tony Spiridakis, the Alison Anders' production of Lover Girl co-starring Sandra Bernhard, Ground Control with Keifer Sutherland and Kelly McGillis, Supreme Sanction with Michael Madson and David Dukes, and Metting Daddy with Beau Bridges and Josh Charles.

Swanson recently starred as Susan Crawford in the CBS series Grapevine which was filmed entirely on location in Miami Beach, Florida. She recently completed a role in the comedy, Dude, Where's my car, for Twentieth Century Fox. In the film, Kristy portrays Christie Boner, the 'dream girl' of the 'dudes' Jesse and Chester (played by Ashton Kutcher and Seann William Scott). Last summer, Kristy co-starred with Adam Sandler in the summer blockbuster comedy, Big Daddy. In the film, she starred as 'Vanessa', the long-time girlfriend of 'Sonny Koufax' (Sandler). Probably best-known for her starring role in the feature, Buffy the Vampire Slayer for Twentieth Century Fox.