Iris helped break the "glass ceiling" of the U.S. Marshals Service in 1975. The agency was created in 1789 when President George Washington appointed the first thirteen U.S. Marshals. It was 183 years before the first thirteen women were hired to carry the badge and weapon of a Deputy U.S. Marshal. Iris was one of them. After ten years with the USMS, Iris transferred to the Defense Investigative Service and retired as a Senior Special Agent.

She wrote her memoir titled "Lucky Thirteen" about her experiences in the USMS and DIS. She married Deputy U.S. Marshal Larry Hattersley in 1979. They live in Henderson, Nevada, and have three grown children. 

Iris attended Exeter College, Oxford University, in the UK and earned a MA from the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

"My Name is Jimmy" is Iris's breakout novel.