From 1985 to 1988, she was a regular in the soap opera As the World Turns, earning a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance.
 She got huge fame from being casted in movies like Hannibal in 2001, The Forgotten in 2004, Crazy, Stupid, Love in 2011, Non-stop in 2011, The hunger games in both parts and Kingsman: The Golden Circle in 2017.
Alice Howland in the film Still Alice in 2014, and she won the Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.