At the age of 15, Lloyd was taking acting lessons at the
Italia Conti School in London. In 1986, director
David Leland cast her as Lynda, the leading role in his film
Wish You Were Here. The film was based loosely on the memoirs of
Cynthia Payne. Lloyd's younger half-sister Charlotte played the 11-year-old Lynda in a flashback sequence.
Wish You Were Here received an
International Federation of Film Critics award at the
1987 Cannes Film Festival, and Lloyd received widespread acclaim for her performance.
Roger Ebert said she was the key to the film's performance, calling it "one of the great debut roles for a young actress". and also at the 1987
Evening Standard British Film Awards. She was also nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in 1988. Following her success,
Steven Spielberg warned her not to get involved in the film industry and to "be a kid and go to Disneyland". Her next role was in the 1989 film
In Country opposite
Bruce Willis, though the two stars reportedly did not get along during filming. Rick Groen from
The Globe and Mail praised Lloyd's performance as "letter perfect – her accent impeccable and her energy immense". Lloyd had been coached on dialect for American roles by
Tim Monich. Lloyd had to turn down an offer for the lead role in
Pretty Woman; she had already been contracted to star in the 1990 film
Mermaids. Lloyd was cast as the daughter of the character played by the film's star,
Cher. Cher, however, thought that Lloyd did not look enough like her to portray her daughter and complained about her casting. The original director of the film,
Lasse Hallström, was fired at Cher's insistence, and Lloyd was subsequently told she was no longer required. Her part was given to
Winona Ryder. Lloyd sued
Orion Pictures for breach of contract and received $175,000 in damages. Shortly thereafter she began dating musician
Gavin Rossdale. According to Lloyd the relationship was troubled, and one night at his apartment alone, she attempted suicide by taking aspirin and slashing her wrists. She was found by one of Rossdale's friends and spent the next six weeks in hospital. She was cast in
Woody Allen's 1992 film
Husbands and Wives, but was fired by him after two weeks due to her ill health. Allen complained Lloyd was spending too much time in her trailer; Lloyd later stated that was because she was making herself vomit. In 1995, she was initially cast as the eponymous lead character for the film
Tank Girl. The film's director,
Rachel Talalay, states she fired Lloyd for refusing to shave her head for the role. Lloyd, who had spent four months training for the film, disputes this. She offered to reschedule her appointment with the film's hair stylist to the following day because the stylist had a dinner date. Talalay ostensibly fired her for "being difficult". Lloyd said she was actually fired due to their personality clashes. Lloyd states she "went to pieces" after
Tank Girl, believing she was cursed. In 1996, she appeared in the
Sean Bean football film
When Saturday Comes, then had a supporting role in the critically acclaimed film
Welcome to Sarajevo. In 1997, Lloyd went to India where she took the anti-malaria drug
mefloquine, which is
contraindicated for people with
mental disorders. Lloyd became sick on the trip and was also bitten by a stray dog. Lloyd attributes her subsequent mental breakdown to the combination of the drug and the attack. She lost on the two-week trip, and developed
obsessive-compulsive disorder afterward. The following year, she starred in the film
Riverworld. ==Theatre career==