Lisa Haydon wanted to be a yoga teacher at the age of 18. Studying psychology on the side, she took her friend's suggestion to pursue modelling to pay for the classes and rent. She started modelling in Australia with her first assignment being for stretch mark cream. Encouraged by her sister's modelling acts in India, she moved to India in 2007 to pursue a modelling career there. In India, she has walked the ramp for Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW) and HDIL-India Couture Week(HDIL-ICW). She is also the face of Lakmé. She has also featured in commercials for Hyundai i20, Indigo Nation, Myntra.com and Blender's Pride.

She was named the best model and the most stylish persona in Cosmopolitan Fun and Fearless Awards 2009, DNA most stylish 2009, Marie Claire best model 2010.In 2011, she appeared in the Kingfisher Calendar.

In 2014, Haydon appeared in the coming-of-age dramedy Queen alongside Kangana Ranaut. She played Vijayalakshmi, a single mother who has a child out of wedlock. Haydon's performance was extensively praised by critics; Devesh Sharma wrote that she "gives a class act", whilst Rajeev Masand said that she "is a complete revelation in the role of Rani's bohemian Parisian pal, investing the character with both sultriness and genuine affection. The film earned unanimous critical acclaim and was also a box office hit. Her latest release was The Shaukeens, a remake of the 1982 film Shaukeen opposite Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor and Piyush Mishra. It was released on 7 November 2014. It took a decent start at the box-office with positive reviews and ended up being an average performer. Lisa Haydon was also a part of Karan Johar's film 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' alongside Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma in the lead roles.

She appeared as the host and headjudge of the first cycle of India's Next Top Model on MTV India. She is a trained Bharatnatyam dancer and has trained with Shiamak Davar for five years. She is currently seen in the webseries 'The Trip' on Bindass channel