DePaiva began her career at 18 as a solo Artist at the Grand Ole Opry. After her stint in Nashville, she attended both Indiana University and UCLA, studying theatre, dropping out before graduation to entertain USO troops in Asia. DePaiva made her debut in daytime originating the role of Chelsea Reardon on Guiding Light (October 1986–January 1991). On Monday, November 29, 1993, she began portraying her most notable role, the part of Blair Daimler Cramer on One Life to Live, formerly portrayed by half-Asian Actress, Mia Korf. She first appeared Friday, December 17, 1993, and was with OLTL for nearly 19 years until the series was canceled. DePaiva's pairing with the character Todd Manning struck a cord with viewers. In 2012, she reprised her role of Blair for several guest stints on ABC's daytime serial General Hospital.
DePaiva has been married to fellow One Life to Live actor James DePaiva since May 31, 1996, and gave birth to their son, James Quentin DePaiva, on May 12, 1997. She was previously married to Richard C. Hankins. In August 2016, DePaiva announced she had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia the month prior.
In January 2014, Soap Opera Digest confirmed that DePaiva had joined the cast of the NBC serial Days of Our Lives as Eve Donovan. DePaiva made her debut on July 18, 2014. In September 2015, DePaiva was let go from the soap, with her last appearance on February 2, 2016; she later returned for several guest appearances in June and December of the same year. DePaiva returned full-time on October 27, 2017.
