Enrolled in a theater course her sophomore year at Wheaton College

After college, moved to NYC to work as an intern at the Hughes-Moss casting agency

Moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant to casting director Gail Eisenstadt

Cast by Eisenstadt in film debut, "About Last Night"

TV debut, "The Alan King Show" (CBS)

Series debut as regular, "Ohara" (ABC)

First film with future husband, Dermot Mulroney, "Survival Quest"

TV-movie debut, "Curse of the Corn People" (CBS)

First film with writer/director Tom DiCillo, "Johnny Suede"; acted opposite Brad Pitt

Appeared as an artist on an episode of "Seinfeld" (NBC) called "The Letter"

Re-teamed with DiCillo for the 17-minute comedy short, "Scene Six, Take One"

First lead in a feature, Tom DiCillo's "Living in Oblivion" (a feature length version of "Scene Six, Take One")

Re-teamed with DiCillo for "Box of Moonlight"

Starred opposite Anne Heche in Nicole Holofcener's feature directorial debut, "Walking and Talking"

Appeared in "If These Walls Could Talk" (HBO), as Demi Moore's judgmental sister-in-law

Fifth film with DiCillo, "The Real Blonde"

Had a cameo as George Clooney's former mistress in "Out of Sight"

Played Ben Stiller's significant other who flirts with lesbianism in Neil LaBute's "Your Friends & Neighbors"

Earned critical praise as Maxine, the bitchy co-worker of John Cusack in Spike Jonze's "Being John Malkovich"; earned first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress

Played Nick Nolte's girlfriend in Matthew Warchus' screen adaptation of Sam Shepard's stage play "Simpatico"

Starred in the critically acclaimed "Lovely and Amazing"; the second feature by writer/director, Nicole Holofcener

Appeared in Steven Soderbergh's ensemble film "Full Frontal"

Co-starred with Edward Norton in the Off-Broadway revival of "Burn This"

Co-starred with Daniel Day-Lewis in "The Ballad of Jack and Rose"

Portrayed writer Harper Lee, opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman, in the drama "Capote"; earned Academy Award and SAG nominations for Best Supporting Actress

Cast as Steve Carell's love interest in Judd Apatow's "40-Year-Old Virgin"

Co-starred with Joan Cusack, Jennifer Aniston and Frances McDormand in Nicole Holofcener's "Friends with Money"

Portrayed Gertrude Baniszewski, the seemingly ordinary housewife who imprisoned and tortured a beautiful teenager in Tommy O'Haver's "An American Crime"; earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a TV-movie

Played Jan Burres in Sean Penn's adaptation of the non-fiction book, "Into the Wild"; earned a SAG nomination for Supporting Actress

Co-starred in Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, "Synecdoche, New York"

Played a Los Angeles Times editor in "The Soloist"

Played the mother in Spike Jonze's live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendak's children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are"