Theresa Ring got her first taste of fame when she competed in the 1984 Miss USA pageant, representing both her hometown of San Diego and home state of California. Over the next few years she appeared in the Mexican "narco" action flick New Drug City and was seen on American TV as a prize model on such game shows as Strike It Rich and Card Sharks. In 1987, she appeared on the talent competition show Star Search (hosted by Ed McMahon) as a spokes model. Following that she pursued both modeling and acting, landing roles in features like Dangerous Curves (1988) as well as TV guest spots on shows like Freddy's Nightmares, Empty Next and Quantum Leap.