1978 | At age 17, auditioned for a spot in the renowned Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, despite having never acted on a stage |
1984 | Stage debut in a Nottingham production of "Mother Courage and Her Children" |
1985 | Made London debut as Mary in "The Grace of Mary Traverse" |
1986 | Played a small role in the feature, "Half Moon Street" |
1988 | Delivered an outstanding performance as the clumsy, unsure Hazel in the feature "Hawks" |
1989 | Starred as Prue Sarn in the two-part BBC production of "Precious Bane" (aired in the U.S. on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre") |
1990 | Portrayed Vita Sackville-West in "Portrait of a Marriage" (aired in the USA on PBS' "Masterpiece Theatre" in 1992) |
1991 | Acted the part of Celeste opposite Alan Bates' Marcel Proust in "102 Boulevard Haussmann" (A&E) |
1992 | Appeared as Yelena opposite Anthony Sher in "Uncle Vanya" |
1992 | Played narrator Ellen Dean in "Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights"; featuring Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche |
1993 | Made a spirited Beatrice to Mark Rylance's Benedick in the West End production of "Much Ado About Nothing" |
1993 | Starred as Riah Millican in "The Black Velvet Gown" (aired in U.S. on "Masterpiece Theatre") |
1995 | Cast opposite Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce in the Christopher Hampton directed, "Carrington" |
1995 | Played Nora in the BBC radio version of Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"; |
1996 | Portrayed Helen Hewitt, the first woman in charge of a maximum security prison, in the British TV series "The Governor" |
1996 | Reprised role of Nora in the West End production of "A Doll's House" |
1997 | Made Broadway debut reprising the role of Nora in "A Doll's House" |
1998 | Provided opening narration (female) for Todd Haynes' "Velvet Goldmine" |
1999 | Breakthrough role as a dislocated single mother in "Tumbleweeds"; earned Best Actress SAG and Oscar nominations |
2000 | Co-starred in Kristian Levering's "The King is Alive" |
2000 | Had a supporting role opposite Billy Crudup in "Waking the Dead" |
2000 | Played a 19th-century musicologist in "Songcatcher" |
2002 | Re-teamed with director Kristian Levering for "The Intended" |
2005 | Played Mary, Queen of Scots in the West End production of "Mary Stuart" |
2006 | Cast in Terry Gilliam's fantasy-drama "Tideland" |
2006 | Cast in the British drama series "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" (BBC) |
2006 | Starred in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of William Shakespeare's "As You Like It" |
2008 | Starred in the West End production of "God of Carnage" |
2009 | Portrayed Clemmie Churchill, opposite Brendan Gleeson as Winston Churchill, in the HBO film "Into the Storm"; earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Movie |
2009 | Reprised role of Mary, Queen of Scots in the Broadway production of "Mary Stuart"; earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play |
2010 | Joined the Broadway production of the Tony-winning hit play "God of Carnage" |
2012 | Acted alongside Daniel Radcliffe in the supernatural thriller "The Woman in Black" |
2012 | Featured opposite Glenn Close in the drama "Albert Nobbs" |
