Perkins was born in Queens, New York City, the daughter of Jo Williams, a drug treatment counselor and concert pianist, and James Perkins, a farmer, writer and businessman. Her paternal grandparents were Greek immigrants from Salonika who anglicized their surname from "Pisperikos" to "Perkins" when they immigrated to the United States. Perkins was raised in Vermont; her parents divorced in 1963. Read more...

She was listed as one of the twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, and she has since landed numerous film roles. Perkins made her film debut in 1986 in Edward Zwick's About Last Night... and had a career breakthrough co-starring with Tom Hanks in Big. She received critical acclaim for her performance in Barry Levinson's Avalon, and was the stand-out actor opposite William Read more...

Perkins' first husband was Chicago actor Terry Kinney, but later divorced. She has one daughter, Hannah Phillips. In 2000, she married her present husband, Argentinian-born cinematographer Julio Macat, gaining three teenage stepsons: Maxmillian, Alexander and Andreas.