The Oklahoma-born Langenkamp was a copy girl for the Tulsa TRIBUNE when she learned of auditions for a film being lensed in the area. She debuted as an extra in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Outsiders" and landed a speaking bit in his immediate follow-up "Rumble Fish" (both 1983). By 1985, she was appearing in series guest spots, TV-movies, and youth-oriented programs like "Have You Tried Talking to Patty?" (a 1986 "CBS Schoolbreak Special") and "Can a Guy Say No?" (a 1986 "ABC Afterschool Special"). Langenkamp became a sitcom regular on "Just the Ten of Us" (ABC's spin-off of "Growing Pains", 1988-90) playing Marie, the model elder daughter of a large Catholic family.
Finding the transition between juvenile and adult roles difficult, Langenkamp took time off to complete her college education and concentrate on marriage and child-rearing. Craven lured her back to films in 1994, playing herself in the well-received postmodern exercise "Wes Craven's New Nightmare". Renewed by the experience, Langenkamp starred as ice princess Nancy Kerrigan in the trashy telepic "Tonya and Nancy: The Inside Story" (NBC, 1994). Since then, she has had the occasional guest role on TV, but more or less has concentrated on motherhood and her own chewing gum business.