Vanessa was working on a commercial tuna-fishing vessel a hundred miles off the Oregon coast when she realized she wanted to be an actor professionally. Most recently she can be seen in Osgood Perkin's horror-thriller, Longlegs. Her television work includes Freeform's Motherland: Fort Salem (2020); Frida Novikov on The Flash (2014); and the titular "best friend" alongside Mary Grill in Best Friend's Betrayal (2019). She was part of the stellar ensemble in the short film A.T.A.C.K. (2022) directed by Nathalie Boltt, which she also produced with her husband, Nelson Leis. Vanessa trained in London at The Globe Theatre and with The London International School of Performing Arts. She graduated from The University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theatre BFA Actor Training Program. Vanessa and Nelson have a daughter named Stella.