Brown played eight times for the England Under–18 side and made her senior debut, aged 16, in February 1997 against Germany. She entered play as a substitute for regular goalkeeper Pauline Cope, as England were beaten 6–4 in the friendly at Deepdale. Manager Ted Copeland also gave Brown some playing time in the next match, a 6–0 friendly win over Scotland at Bramall Lane on 9 March 1997. Exactly a year later, Brown made her first home start in England's 1–0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Germany at The Den.