Elson began her professional career as a
child model and actress, appearing in a number of commercials, print advertisements and community theatre productions in San Diego. Although
Whiz Kids lasted only one season, Elson's role as Alice established the 14-year-old and her teenage co-stars as prominent fixtures in the various teen magazines of the era, including
16 magazine,
Bop and
Teen Beat, among others. The role also led to all the teenage
Whiz Kids crossing over into a 1983 episode of
Simon & Simon titled "Fly the Alibi Skies". In 1986, Elson landed a co-starring role on the
NBC science-fiction situation comedy
ALF. She portrayed Lynn Tanner, the teenage daughter in a typical middle-class suburban family who adopt a friendly extraterrestrial, performed by puppeteer
Paul Fusco. The series lasted four seasons and her portrayal earned her two
Youth in Film Award nominations before the series' cancellation in 1990. After the cancellation of
ALF, Elson continued to appear in a variety of television roles, guest starring on a number of television series of the time, including ''
Who's the Boss?, Parker Lewis Can't Lose, ABC Afterschool Special, Married... with Children, Mad About You, Step by Step, and The Young and the Restless, as well as appearing in the television films Class Cruise and Frankenstein: The College Years''. ==Personal life==