She is the eldest daughter of a family of four girls and one boy. In the late 1970s her father got her a start in her acting career when his then-girlfriend got Erika a job modeling children's clothing for TV commercials. As an adolescent she moved on to advertisements for hair-care products and motorcycles. In 1982 she had an uncredited role as a child in the blockbuster sci-fi hit E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). In high school her life took a turn for the worse, as she plunged into a world of drugs and alcohol. Her redemption came in the form of Steve Ferguson, a young charismatic crippled man who became Erika's guiding light. He signed her up to Alcoholics Anonymous in 1988, and helped her through her detoxification. The situation became complicated when Steve's father Robert and Erika's mother married. Erika for a short period of time had contemplated marrying Steve, but never did. She went on to have several small roles in television. She played Stephanie Curtis, Scott Baio's on-screen (and off-screen) girlfriend in "Charles in Charge" (1984) and Jamie Coburn in Broken Angel (1988) (TV). In 1989 Erika decided that appearing in Playboy would help boost her career, and Steve helped her realize that dream when he contacted a Playboy photographer. Playboy featured her on two covers and later as the Centerfold in the July 1989 issue. Later that year Erika won a role in "Baywatch" (1989) as Shauni McClain. She was the lead female character for three seasons until Pamela Anderson replaced her in 1992. While working on the series, Erika became involved with co-star Billy Warlock a former soap opera star. Neither were single, but their friendship slowly changed into love (he was the reason why Erika ended up leaving the show after only two seasons). The relationship didn't last due to Billy's jealous nature--he later confessed in an interview, "I can't bear anyone else to see her body." Her return to the movie scene was memorable one. In 1992 she played Tate Jordan, a Playboy Playmate hired to do a striptease for the Captain of a US Navy ship, in Under Siege (1992) with Steven Seagal, one of that year's biggest hits. She attempted to capitalize on this success by starring as Ellie May in the screen adaptation of The Beverly Hillbillies (1993), but the film flopped. She then starred in the Dennis Hopper-directed romantic comedy Chasers (1994). William McNamara, her partner in this film, also became her partner in life. Erika went on to shoot another movie with William, Girl in the Cadillac (1995). The two seemed very happy together, and were engaged, but never married. Erika also tried her hand at making an interactive game during 1995. In Panic in the Park (1995) (VG) she played identical twins, but the game never really took off. She continued to make more independent films including _Pyromaniac's Love Story, A (1996)_ , Bordello of Blood (1996) and Ed McBain's 87th Precinct: Heatwave (1997) (TV). In 1997 she met her future husband, Philip Goglia. They were wed on May 22, 1998, and resided together in Marina Del Rey, CA, until their divorce. Since then Erika has kept herself busy by starring in a host of films. These include The Pandora Project (1998) with Daniel Baldwin, Final Voyage (1999) with Ice-T, Stealth Fighter (1999) also with Ice-T, The Opponent (2000), Vegas, City of Dreams (2001) with Angelica Bridges, Second to Die (2002), Snowbound (2001), Betrayal (2003) and Shakedown (2002) (V). After filming "Snowbound" Erika was so enthralled by the city of Calgary that she purchased a home there. She is still making movies and a few more are slated to come out next year. Erika is a very friendly person and has recently opened up a website about herself.