Kristen was born in Brooklyn, New York. She made her screen debut in the female lead role in the 1971 comedy film Preacherman. Having acted off and on Broadway for several years, including the musicals Grease and Mayor, Kristen made her television debut in the role of Delia Ryan on the ABC daytime soap opera Ryan's Hope in 1975 and remained with the show until 1979. In January 1982, she returned to television, portraying Georgina Whitman on One Life to Live for a few months before being asked back to Ryan's Hope in March 1982 where she remained for a year and a half. She returned to Ryan's Hope in 1986, remaining there until it was cancelled three years later.