After a nearly 30-year acting career, Lea Thompson still possesses the youthful look of 16-year-old Lorraine Baines in the “Back to the Future” trilogy.

Thompson portrayed the love-struck teen when her future teenage son, Marty McFly, goes back to 1955 in a time machine. Today, Thompson is again portraying a mother, Kathryn Kennish, in the television series, “Switched at Birth.” “I’ve been playing a mom to teenagers almost my whole career. ‘Switched’ is enlightening and entertaining at the same time. It’s fulfilling to work on the show,” Thompson said.

She’s been a mom to teenagers in real life too. Thompson and her husband of 22 years, film director Howard Deutch, have two daughters Madeline and Zoey Deutch.

Thompson was born May 31, 1961, and began studying dance at the age of 9. She won scholarships to the American Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet when she was 14 years old. Thompson began her professional dance career at the age of 16 and performed in 45 ballets with the Minnesota Dance Theatre, the Pennsylvania Ballet Company and the Ballet Repertory. Her first part was a mouse in “The Nutcracker.” She made the switch to acting after three years on her toes. She landed a couple of commercial spots during the 1970s, and in 1982, she got her first movie role. A few more roles followed, including a part in “Red Dawn” in 1984. It was the following year Thompson received her breakthrough role in “Back to the Future.”

Success came to Thompson on the big screen and the little screen as well as the stage. She is also well-known for her role as Caroline Duffy from the 1990s television series “Caroline in the City.”

“I switched from dancing to acting because I realized I couldn’t do what I wanted as a dancer. I always loved performing, so I decided acting was an easier way to express myself,” Thompson said.

Apparently she was right. Thompson has played the gamut from drama to comedy. She’s been cast in nearly three dozen films and as many television roles, appeared on stage in several plays and directed some television episodes she appeared in.

Thompson also produced and starred in “Mayor Cupcake,” which featured her two daughters.

She stars in the film “Thin Ice” with Greg Kinnear scheduled to open Friday, Feb. 17.

Thompson will be in Sedona for the Sedona International Film Festival to introduce her other upcoming film “The Trouble with the Truth” opposite John Shea, which plays at the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Thursday, Feb. 23, at 5:30 p.m. and at Harkins Theatres Sedona Six on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 3:10 p.m.

“The movie is about a couple who are divorced but sit down together over dinner to discuss their daughter’s pending nuptials. The conversation moves to their lives, what happened and about love,” Thompson said. “It’s a really beautiful discussion about mature love. It’s very powerful. I’ve had four great parts as an actress, and this is one of them.”

Thompson, along with a strong sense of family, also has a strong sense of giving back. She performs for charities including breast cancer research, the Alzheimer’s Association, the WeSpark Foundation and the Schleroderma Foundation.

Thompson said she’s had a great life. She’s worked more often than not over the past 30 years and has a fantastic family.

“I love to have my family over for Sunday dinner,” she said.

Thompson recently spent time in Sedona for a photo shoot and said staying by Oak Creek was “so awesome and beautiful.”

“I’ve been to Sedona many times. My mother-in-law was friends with Georgia Frontiere and we’d visit at her ranch. I think I’ll be in Sedona for a while and plan to do a lot of fun things,” she said.

One of her goals is to spend time shopping, something she was unable to do on previous trips.

“I’m so excited to be there and at the film festival. I’m honored to be a part of it,” Thompson said.

The 18th annual Sedona International Film Festival begins Saturday, Feb. 18, and ends Sunday, Feb. 26.