The resonantly photogenic model-turned-actress Sarah Lancaster began life in Overland Park, KS, with a real estate broker father, a homemaker mother, and one sibling. The family moved to Mission Viejo, Orange County, before Sarah's 11th birthday, where the aspiring star instantly secured representation and, within a few years, landed a recurring role as Rachel Meyers on the teen-oriented sitcom Saved by the Bell: The New Class, between 1994 and 1996. Lancaster briefly attended the University of California at Irvine to facilitate an early high-school graduation, then leapt into L.A.-based acting work, with a series of contributions to such low-profile films as Lovers Lane (1999), Mercury Project (2000), and Devil in the Flesh 2 (2000).
Lancaster scored her first huge cinematic break in 2002, when she appeared (very briefly) as one among dozens of romantic interests for Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) in Steven Spielberg's dazzling biopic Catch Me If You Can (2002). Lancaster maintained a higher onscreen profile with guest-starring appearances on Scrubs and CSI, as well as supporting roles on Everwood and Dr. Vegas. Her next two television roles -- Dr. Marjorie Seaver on the comedy drama What About Brian and Ellie Bartowski on the spy comedy drama Chuck -- lead to even higher exposure and success.