After honing her craft off-Broadway, the Brooklyn-raised actor made her first big impression in the indie wedding comedy True Love, which earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She subsequently appeared in a number of films, both indies, such as Cop Land and The Addiction, and mainstream movies, including the romantic comedies Mr. Wonderful and The Night We Never Met. An Emmy-nominated turn as Tony Soprano's mistress on The Sopranos launched a new career on the small screen, which continued with a role on the short-lived Queens Supreme, followed by her critically lauded turn as a know-it-all detective on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Despite her popularity in the role, she left the series after one season, and later landed in the quirky hospital drama Mental, which lasted one season in 2009.