New York raised actress Justine Bateman is the daughter of a film producer father and flight attendant mother. She began acting at the age of eleven, appearing in numerous theatrical productions including "A Midsummer's Night's Dream", "Barefoot in the Park" and "Up the Down Staircase".

Justine made her professional theatrical debut in 1984 in the searing drama "Journey to the Day", in which actress played Katherine, a suicidal young woman forced to come to terms with herself in a mental institution. The cast included her younger brother Jason, and her father Kent directed the play while her mother Victoria assisted behind the scenes.

In 1985 Bateman starred in the ABC-TV movie, "Right to Kill?" (1985) (TV) and a year later, in the NBC-TV movie "Can You Feel Me Dancing?" (1986) (TV) in which she played a spirited blind girl who overcomes her handicap. Actress hosted the original videocassette dealing with issues of teen dating, "How Can I Tell I'm Really in Love?".