Born and raised in Hauppauge, Long Island, Loughlin got her start in show business at a young age. After only six months of acting lessons, Loughlin was cast in the daytime drama The Edge of Night, for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress in a Daytime Series.

In 1985, Loughlin was cast in the feature film Secret Admirer, a romantic comedy co-starring C. Thomas Howell and Kelly Preston. Loughlin also starred opposite Treat Williams in Critical Mass. She appeared in the beach movie spoof Back to the Beach, as well as in Rad, a film about BMX racing, and Amityville 3-D, the third installment of the Amityville horror movie franchise.

In addition to Full House, Loughlin was a regular in Hudson Street, a comedy starring Tony Danza. Other television roles have included an after-school special titled No Means No, for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Actress. Loughlin also worked with Jim Carrey in the television movie Doing Time on Maple Drive and starred in In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory. She has made repeat performances in a number of series, including The Drew Carey Show and Spin City, and guest-starred in such series as Seinfeld, Suddenly Susan, The Larry Sanders Show and The WB drama Birds of Prey.

Loughlin resides in Los Angeles with her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, and their three children.