Hatcher studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater. One of her early jobs (in 1984) was as a cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers. During this time, she also appeared as one of the mermaids on the show The Love Boat in its final season.

Hatcher landed a co-starring role in 1993, opposite Dean Cain in Lois and Clark. She portrayed Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane in the television series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997. At the height of the show's popularity in 1995, a picture of Hatcher wrapped in a Superman cape was reportedly downloaded on the Internet 20,000 times. "It's a great shot," she told Entertainment Weekly. "Not so much because it's me. It's just cool-looking."

Hatcher beat out Monica Bellucci for the role of Paris Carver in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Hatcher was three months pregnant at the filming's start, by her then-husband, Jon Tenney. Her publicist said the pregnancy did not affect the pr