Mary Ellen Trainor was born in Chicago, Illinois. She appeared in many feature-films of the 1980s, notable characters include, Elaine, the kidnapped sister of Kathleen Turner and the catalyst for the entire plot in Romancing the Stone (1984), Dr. Stephanie Woods (LA Police Psychiatrist) in in all four Lethal Weapon (1987) films, Mrs. Walsh Mikey and Brand`s (Sean Astinand Josh Brolin) mom in The Goonies (1985), news reporter Gail Wallens in Die Hard (1988) and Ricochet (1991).