Before vanishing from the radar screen, Michelle Meyrink had an acting career that would make Molly Ringworm bite her lip in jealous fury. After her first role as Suzie, an unassuming and out-of-place deep thinker in Valley Girl (1983), Meyrink went on to play the brainy ying to the vacuous yang of the supply-side '80s. She scored nine movies from 1983 to 1988, including the choice role as lead accordion player in Revenge of the Nerds. In real life, she broke Crispin Glover's (Back to the Future) heart while playing opposite Val Kilmer and Keanu Reeves in each of their career launching roles. Unfortunately, playing cute, hyperkinetic brainiacs didn't prove to be the path to fast lane fame for Meyrink, and she found herself stuck in the second tier of brat packers. After filming Permanent Record in Portland in 1988, Meyrink abandoned acting and retreated into anonymity.

Real Genius (1985)--Sabotaging an evil professor's plan to turn a college geek's (Val Kilmer) lab project into a high-powered military weapon, Meyrink plays Jordan, a fast-talking, card-carrying Mensa member/insomniac. With her Noxzema-fresh face and uneven bob cut, she won the pimply hearts of smitten nerds everywhere!

Nice Girls Don't Explode (1987)--Stretching a metaphor like silly putty, Meyrink plays April Flowers, an eager teen who literally and telekinetically ignites fires when she is sexually aroused. A joke that never tires, Fluffy the family cat is repeatedly caught in the crossfire.

Permanent Record (1988)--With a soundtrack by Joe Strummer and a remarkably textured performance from Keanu Reeves, director Marisa Silver pieces together a moody and ultra-realistic tale about a tight group of high school friends trying to patch together their innocence after their talented best friend commits suicide. As Reeves' girlfriend, M.G., this proves to be a symbolic last role for Meyrink--gone, but hardly forgotten.