Thayer is well known for her work on television. From 1978 to 1986, she played
Jenny Wolek in the ABC daytime soap opera,
One Life to Live. Thayer assumed the role in August 1978 amid a contract dispute between
Katherine Glass and
ABC Daytime. In 1986, Thayer left
One Life to Live and began a career on primetime television. She starred in two short-lived dramas for CBS:
TV 101 from 1988 to 1989, and
Island Son (1989–1990). In 1992, she joined the cast of the ABC legal series
Matlock portraying Matlock's daughter, Leanne MacIntyre, and was a regular cast member; she was previously a guest star in the 1991 episode "The Suspect". From 1997-98, she had a regular role in the
Pensacola: Wings of Gold. In film, Thayer co-starred in
Hero and the Terror (1988) and
Murder in Mexico: The Bruce Beresford-Redman Story (2015). She guest starred in a number of television shows, including
Moonlighting;
Murder, She Wrote;
7th Heaven;
Diagnosis: Murder;
JAG;
Cold Case;
Without a Trace;
Castle; and
How to Get Away with Murder. She had a recurring role in
General Hospital as Kylie Quinlan in 1994. In 2011, she guest starred on
Days of Our Lives as
Susan Banks. She portrayed the present day version of Lily Specter on
Suits, mother of Harvey Specter. ==Personal life==