Brice was born in Redhill, Surrey. She studied English at Cambridge University. Her early acting roles included a schoolgirl witch in the 1986 adaptation of Jill Murphy's novel, The Worst Witch and a part in children's sitcom News at Twelve (1988) (for both these roles she was credited as "Lisa" Brice). She joined the cast of prison drama Bad Girls in Series 7, in 2005 as Pat Kerrigan, who is serving life in prison for the murder of her ex-boyfriend. Her character would become the final 'Top Dog' of the show.