A child model, Goodwin made her screen debut as the love interest of Elvis Presley in the film, Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962). Between then and 1969, she appeared in three more films and as a guest actor on several television series, including the Star Trek pilot episode, The Cage (1964). Goodwin starred as Yeoman J. M. Colt in the Star Trek pilot, and after the series was picked up by NBC, the episode was woven into a first season two-part episode entitled "The Menagerie"