Fields began acting with small roles in the features "Come Back, Charleston Blue" (1972) and "The Taking Of Pelham 1-2-3" (1974) before landing a role in "Roots--The Second Generation" (1979), the sequel to the celebrated miniseries. When her nine year run on "The Facts of Life" ended in 1988, the then 18-year-old Fields enrolled at California's Pepperdine University. There she kept active by performing in plays and directing music videos. Fields returned to the small screen in 1992 with guest slots on "Martin", "The Golden Palace", "Roc", and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She moved behind the camera in 1994 when she directed, produced and co-wrote a 40-minute docudrama "The Silent Bomb", about a female police offer who contracts HIV.

Fields comes from a show business family. Her mother Chip Fields directs and her younger sister Alexis played a regular character on Fox TV's sitcom "Roc".