Rise to Fame
Her 90s run had a very specific arc. Starship Troopers (1997) put her on the map, but Wild Things (1998) is what changed the conversation. Playing Kelly Van Ryan, she ditched the good-girl TV roles she'd built on Melrose Place and 90210 and earned real critical credit as a manipulative villainess. Then came The World Is Not Enough (1999), where she played Dr. Christmas Jones opposite Pierce Brosnan. The Bond film made her globally famous. It also became one of the most mocked castings in the franchise's history, which is a strange kind of double billing.
In the Spotlight
The Charlie Sheen marriage and divorce defined her tabloid era more than any film role. She filed for divorce in 2005 while pregnant with their second daughter; the custody battle dragged through the press for years. RHOBH gave her a second act in 2019, then she departed amid Brandi Glanville affair allegations. In 2025, husband Aaron Phypers filed for divorce and reportedly sought a cut of her OnlyFans income, which she has said runs $200,000-$300,000 a month. Her daughter Sami, also on OnlyFans, adds a strange generational footnote. The chaos around her feels constitutional at this point.
Side Notes
Most of the coverage misses the texture. She adopted her third daughter Eloise in 2011, who has Chromosome 8, Monosomy 8p, a rare chromosomal disorder causing speech and development delays. Her mother died of cancer in November 2007, during the height of the tabloid period with Sheen. She grew up in Downers Grove, Illinois, moved to California at 15, and started modeling before anyone knew her name. Her 2011 memoir The Real Girl Next Door hit the New York Times bestseller list, which either proves she's a better writer than expected or that her fanbase is more loyal than critics give her credit for.