Born in Glendale, California, Eleniak is the eldest daughter in her family of four girls and one boy whose parents divorced. During the late 1970s, Eleniak s father introduced her to her future career in the movie industry when his then girlfriend got Eleniak a part to model children s clothing for TV commercials. Her first role was in the world wide hit film E.

T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)—as the girl kissed by Elliott.
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 introduced her to Alcoholics Anonymous in 1988, and helped her through her detoxification.
She went on to have several small roles in television.

She played Stephanie Curtis, Scott Baio s on-screen girlfriend in Charles in Charge (1984) (and was also his off-screen girlfriend) 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.