She was raised on her family’s grain farm, and was discovered by modeling agency scout Kelly Streit at age 17 while standing in line at a local movie theatre Helfer is of German, English, Swedish, and Norwegian descent. She has appeared in ad campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Versace, Chanel, and Giorgio Armani. She relocated to Los Angeles in 2002 to pursue a full-time film career. Thereafter, she played the role of a model, Ashleigh James, in the May 16, 2002 episode “The Hunger Artist” on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. in 2006, Helfer appeared in the motion pictures Spiral and The Green Chain.
