Four weeks after arriving in Los Angeles, Foreman earned her
SAG card after appearing in a
McDonald's of England commercial. Resolving to become a serious actress, she took acting lessons from a variety of teachers. Her first acting job was in a comedy pilot for NBC's
The Grady Nutt Show. More television work and two supporting film roles soon followed. After a 1983 appearance on the popular sitcom
Family Ties, her first starring role in a feature film was
Valley Girl (1983) with the then-little-known
Nicolas Cage, which brought her national fame.
The New York Times reviewer did not care for
Valley Girl and wrote that Foreman was "too passive to carry the movie" while her counterpart at the
Los Angeles Times enjoyed the same movie. Mark Deming of
AllMovie wrote that Foreman "made an indelible impression on fans of 1980s pop culture with her performance in the title role of the film
Valley Girl". In 1985, Foreman had a small role in the comedy film
Real Genius. In 1986, she was named "Most Promising New Star" by
ShoWest, the largest and most notable film convention in the world. She had a starring role in the comedy film
My Chauffeur (1986), in which she played a somewhat
Madonna-influenced character who gets a job as a driver for a stuffy limousine service.
My Chauffeur was publicized widely, but connected only modestly with teen audiences and critics.
The New York Times reviewer Lawrence Van Gelder wrote "Miss Foreman, who with discipline and far better script might become an engaging comedienne, is mired here in a character who at one moment is delivering a lecture on proper treatment of women and at the next is smirking." The
Los Angeles Times reviewer Michael Wilmington called Foreman a "New Wave
Carole Lombard crossed with early
Shirley MacLaine". However, Robert Blau of the
Chicago Tribune wrote that Foreman "gives a breathlessly irritating portrayal of Casey". By contrast, Charles Taylor of the
Boston Phoenix wrote that Foreman "is an appealing comic actress who goes at even the most inane situations with tireless enthusiasm and dimpley sex appeal" and although "she can't salvage
My Chauffeur, she does give perkiness a good name." That same year, Foreman played dual roles in the offbeat dark comedy and preppy murder mystery ''
April Fool's Day''. Although her performance was praised by reviewers, the film's plot and surprise ending were widely panned, with critic
Vincent Canby commenting for
The New York Times: "... the dialogue is mostly composed of rude variations on 'eek,' 'ugh', and 'I'd like to sleep with you this evening.'" The reviewer for AllMovie wrote "With her
Sheryl Lee-like features and facial expressions, Deborah Foreman makes an appealingly off-balance scream queen". During the five years following, Foreman appeared in over half a dozen low-budget horror movies and independent films. Syndicated columnist
Joe Bob Briggs gave Foreman a "Drive-in Academy Award nomination as the damsel in distress" for saying "It's all very simple! Bunny men from Neptune have invaded Mars!" Though she retired from acting in 1991, Foreman did make a brief appearance in the music video "Must Be The One" for the rock band
She Wants Revenge, as well as a small cameo as a shopgirl in
the 2020 remake of
Valley Girl, her best known film. ==Filmography==