Raised in Wichita, Kansas until the age of seven

Family moved to San Diego, California in the mid-1960s

Spent a year working as a cook on a charter scuba-diving boat at age 17 before college and scuba diving for recreation

First professional job as a dancer in "The Green Show" at San Diego's famed Old Globe Theatre

Performed with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival

Apprenticed with the American Conservatory Theater

Performed with Denver Center Theater Company

Moved to New York City

TV-movie debut in "Manhunt for Claude Dallas" (CBS)

Off-Broadway stage debut as Holly Dancer in Tina Howe's widely acclaimed "Coastal Disturbances"

Received a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in "Coastal Disturbances"

Landed guest spots on episodes of "Miami Vice" (NBC) and "Wiseguy" (CBS)

Moved to Los Angeles

Feature film debut as Dan Aykroyd's onscreen wife in "The Great Outdoors"

Played a Central Park Zookeeper in the Off-Broadway production of Michael Weller's "Spoils of War"

First leading role as the manipulative, seductive Marquise de Merteuil in Milos Forman's "Valmont"

Offered a strong turn as a ditsy wanna-be actress in Mike Nichols' "Postcards From the Edge"

Delivered brilliant portrayal as the bubbly, treacherous con-artist Myra Langtry in Stephen Frears's "The Grifters"; received Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination

Garnered further acclaim in "Regarding Henry" (re-teaming her with director Mike Nichols)

Met future husband, Warren Beatty co-starring in Barry Levinson's "Bugsy"

Re-teamed with Beatty for "Love Affair," a pallid remake of "An Affair to Remember" (1957) and "Love Affair" (1939)

Co-starred with Michael Douglas in Rob Reiner's "The American President"; received a Golden Globe nomination for Actress in a Musical/Comedy

Played Jack Nicholson's wife in Tim Burton's blockbuster spoof "Mars Attacks!"

Appeared with Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis in Edward Zwick's "The Siege"

Returned to the stage after a decade as Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler" at the Geffen Playhouse

Played the shrewish, status-seeking wife of a man undergoing a mid-life crisis in "American Beauty"; was the feature film debut for writer Alan Ball and director Sam Mendes; received Best Actress Academy Award nomination

Co-starred with Garry Shandling in Mike Nichols' "What Planet Are You From?" (third collaboration with Nichols)

Voiced Abigail Adams on the short lived PBS animated series "Liberty's Kids"

Starred opposite Kevin Costner (also directed) and Robert Duvall in the western epic "Open Range"

Portrayed an aging British actress in the 1930s in "Being Julia"; based on the novel Theatre by W. Somerset Maugham; received Best Actress SAG and Academy Award nominations

Portrayed the title role in "Mrs. Harris" (HBO); received Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actress

Played an unstable mother in the film adaptation of Augusten Burroughs' "Running With Scissors"; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy

Played the editor of a prominent fashion magazine in Diane English's female ensemble "The Women," a remake of the 1936 play by Clare Boothe Luce