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Suddenly, Campbell lost her anonymity. She couldn't even escape to Europe because Party of Five is just as popular there.
Even with a hip hit series, it seemed Campbell could only snag roles in teen horror films. It didn't seem like a promising career move but she desperately wanted to be in feature films.
In her first outing The Craft, Campbell played a teen witch. The movie was a modest hit in the theatres and an even bigger on video.
Then Campbell got cast as high school senior who is the object of a mysterious stalker in Scream. What was meant to be a clever spoof on slasher films turned into a box-office smash.
Campbell is back Dec. 12 in Scream 2, this time as a college freshman whose nightmare begins all over again as a copy-cat killer begins another rampage.
Campbell has already been asked to reprise her character for Scream 3.
Scream director Wes Craven insists "Neve is the core of these movies. The series would be greatly diminished without her."
Even with this glowing praise, Campbell is not certain she'll return for Scream 3.
"I have concerns about becoming a scream queen. It happened to Jamie Lee Curtis when she did so many slasher films."
Campbell also feels because she is committed to Party of Five for at least seven months, she has to be selective of the films she does during her hiatus.
"Party of Five and Scream have put me in a cage. It's a beautiful cage but it's made it very difficult for me to carve out a feature film career of my liking."
Campbell's career and celebrity have also taken their toll on her private life.
In July, Campbell's husband Jeffrey Colt filed to end their three-year marriage. The couple had been together since Campbell was 17 and married so Colt could get his green card and work as an actor.
"I still love Jeff very much but it has become increasingly more difficult to have a private life."
Campbell's parents divorced when she was a baby. She and her two brothers were raised by their father. Campbell moved out when she was 15.
"I got cast as a dancer in the Toronto production of Phantom of the Opera. I was 10 years younger than the next youngest person in the company.
"I was never a teenager. When I started playing Julia on Party of Five, I had difficulty understanding her problems.
"Now that Julia has passed on going to college in order to get married, I'm beginning to be able to bring some of my own experiences into her life."
In addition to Scream 2, Campbell was able to film the drama Wild Thing this past spring with Kevin Bacon and Matt Dillon.
"I play a bisexual, drug addicted ex-con so there goes my wholesome screen image. I purposely chose that role to shatter my goody-goody image."
Campbell also has a small role in the Mike Myers' film Studio 54 that shot this summer in Toronto.