The daughter of actress Susan Sarandon and Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri, Eva Amurri began acting at the age of seven. Her first film appearance was in the political satire Bob Roberts, a pet project by her mom's partner, Tim Robbins. Amurri then accompanied Sarandon in several films, including Dead Man Walking, where she portrayed her mother's character of Sister Helen at age nine. After breaking out on her own as Sara Livey in the independent comedy-drama Made-Up, she gained some attention as Ginger Kingsley in The Banger Sisters, where she appropriately plays the daughter of Susan Sarandon's Lavinia. Amurri then earned a role in the coming-of-age drama Saved (2003).