She first started acting in 1994 and has been in a handful of videos with her most noted role being her portrayal of Lori Piestewa in Saving Jessica Lynch.

Lightning had starred as the character "Jo" in the 1995 movie 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up.

In 2005, she played "Chloe" in the movie American Pie Presents: Band Camp.

Lightning, in the 2006 video game Prey, voiced Jen, the girlfriend of the game's protagonist, Tommy.

LightningCloud released their self-titled debut in 2012 to critical acclaim. Sam Slovik of the L.A. Weekly called the group, "a near-earth object inventing new realms of the Electro-House-Hip-Hop revolution on the planet. Urban futurist[s], MC Red Cloud and Crystle Lightning are L.A.’s subterranean Bonnie and Clyde." The Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards (APCMA) honored the group with recognition for Best Hip Hop Album in November 2012. In 2013, LightningCloud battled their way past the best MCs in Southern California to win the “Who’s Next: Battle for the Best” contest on the number one hip hop station in the United States, Power 106. As winners, LightningCloud received a cash prize, a performance with Kendrick Lamar, and the honor of representing the best of west coast hip hop against Hot 97’s Brooklyn-based, east coast representative Radamiz in a freestyle battle in Austin, Texas on March 15, 2013. After winning that MC battle, LightningCloud received the opportunity to work with Timbaland in the recording studio.

Crystle Lightning is also a respected electro house DJ. Inspired by a mix performed by DJ Lady Tribe at a local Los Angeles nightspot, Lightning sought a musical apprenticeship with Christi Mills, later partnering with her mentor to form a performance crew called Ladies of the House. Ladies of the House is well known for their New Year’s masquerade extravaganza at the Parlor Room, in Hollywood, California. They perform regularly at prominent Los Angeles hot spots such as King King, the House of Blues, the 1616 Club, and Lucy’s 51, as well as throughout the United States.