At 16, Fox made her acting debut in the 2001 film Holiday in the Sun, as spoiled heiress Brianna Wallace and rival of Alex Stewart (Ashley Olsen). The film was released Direct-to-DVD on November 20, 2001. The following year, Fox landed the lead main role as Ione Starr on the television series Ocean Ave. The series lasted two seasons, from 2002–2003 and Fox appeared in 122 one-hour-long episodes. In 2004, Fox guest-starred on Two and a Half Men in the episode "Camel Filters and Pheromones". In the same year, Fox made her film debut in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen co-starring opposite Lindsay Lohan, playing the supporting role of Carla Santi, a rival of Lola (Lindsay Lohan). Again in 2004, Fox was cast in regular role on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith, in which she portrayed Sydney Shanowski, replacing Nicole Paggi in the role. Fox appeared in 36 episodes from seasons 2 to 3, until the show was cancelled in 2006.