Raised in Nottingham; put into foster care beginning when she was three years old

Began career in an acting workshop in Nottingham

First professional job at age 14; presented "Go Wild" a wildlife program

Acted in the serial "Soldier Soldier" as a sergeant's daughter

Breakthrough TV role on an episode of the British TV drama "Cracker"; played a young girl impregnated by the head of a religious cult

Earned acclaim for her stage performance alongside Susan Lynch and Melissa Wilson in "Ashes and Sand"

Co-starred as a teenage prostitute in the miniseries "Band of Gold" (aired in the USA on HBO)

Breakthrough screen role in "Under the Skin" (released in the USA in 1998)

Cast as Harriet Smith in the BBC/A&E adaptation of "Jane Austen's 'Emma'"

Had title role in BBC/A&E production of "Jane Eyre"

Appeared in the Irish production "This Is the Sea" with Gabriel Byrne and Richard Harris (filmed in 1995)

Co-starred as Sophia Western in the BBC/A&E miniseries "Tom Jones"

Starred as a headstrong woman in 1950s Britain torn between her love for her cousin (Rupert Graves) and her duty to her common law husband (Lee Ross) in "Dreaming of Joseph Lees"

Earned a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance as a mute laundress in Woody Allen's "Sweet and Lowdown"

Appeared as a heroin addict in "Jesus' Son" (released theatrically in the USA in 2000)

Played a hostage kidnapped by two inept thieves in "The Last Yellow" co-starring Mark Addy and Charlie Creed-Miles

Portrayed a very pregnant Sara Hutchison Coleridge opposite Linus Roache's Samuel Taylor Coleridge in "Pandemonium"; directed by Julien Temple

Starred opposite Tom Cruise in "Minority Report"

Starred in Lynn Ramsay's second feature as director "Morvern Callar"

Played Sarah an Irish immigrant in the film "In America"; earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress

Cast opposite Tim Robbins in "Code 46" a futuristic love story

Co-starred with Daniel Craig and Rhys Ifans in the thriller "Enduring Love"

Cast as Sarah Carraclough in "Lassie," Charles Sturridge's film based on Eric Knight's classic 1938 novel

Portrayed Myra Hindley, a notorious child murderer in the HBO original movie, "Longford"; earned an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

Played Mary Queen of Scots in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” the follow-up to “Elizabeth”

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