Amy Yasbeck was born and raised in Cincinnati, the daughter of a grocery store proprietor and a homemaker. After moving to New York City, she was discovered by an agent who spied her working as a hostess in a restaurant. He began sending her on auditions, and eventually convinced her to move to Los Angeles.

Yasbeck made her television debut on the revival of Love, American Style as part of the comedy troupe that performed sketches on the show. Her additional TV credits include playing Olivia, the villain-turned-heroine on NBC's daytime drama Days of Our Lives, and numerous guest-starring roles on series including Dallas, Magnum, P.I. (in a recurring role), China Beach, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, The Cosby Show, Designing Women, Quantum Leap, and It's Like, You Know... She also had a starrring role in the USA Original Movie Dead Husbands.

Yasbeck's film credits include Pretty Woman, Problem Child, Problem Child II, The Mask, Mel Brooks's Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, and The Odd Couple II.