1983 Moved to New York (date approximate)
1985 Played Frannie Hughes on CBS daytime serial "As the World Turns"; eventually played dual role of Frannie and her lookalike half-sister Sabrina
1987 Primetime TV debut in the CBS miniseries "I'll Take Manhattan"
1988 Cast as Ophelia in a production of "Hamlet" at the Guthrie Theatre
1989 TV-movie debut, "Money, Power, Murder" (CBS)
1990 Cast as Yelena in Gregory's workshop of "Uncle Vanya" (date approximate)
1990 Feature acting debut, "Tales From the Darkside: The Movie"
1990 Met Andre Gregory while appearing in "Ice Cream With Hot Fudge" at The Public Theater in NYC
1992 First substantial role in a feature as the real estate agent friend to Annabella Sciorra in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle"
1993 Caught the attention of Steven Spielberg with her three minute role as a doctor colleague of Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive"
1993 First film for Robert Altman, "Short Cuts"; garnered notoriety for a scene performed nude from the waist down
1993 Worked with Al Pacino in a stage workshop production of August Strindberg's "The Father"
1994 Recreated the role of Yelena for Louis Malle's "Vanya on 42nd Street," a filmed version of Gregory's workshops
1995 First leading role in a feature, "Safe"; also first pairing with director Todd Haynes
1996 Cast as Dora Maar in the Merchant-Ivory film "Surviving Picasso"
1997 Co-starred in the blockbuster sequel "The Lost World: Jurassic Park"
1997 Played Mia, the uptight daughter in a highly dysfunctional family in Bart Freundlich's "The Myth of Fingerprints"; fell in love with film's director and later married
1997 Received first Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress for her performance as a porn star in "Boogie Nights"
1998 Assumed role originated by Vera Miles in Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot color remake of "Psycho"
1998 Cast in the Coen brothers' "The Big Lebowski"
1999 Played the pious British wife engaging in an adulterous relationship with a writer (Ralph Fiennes) in Neil Jordon's "The End of the Affair"; earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination
1999 Reteamed with Robert Altman to play an eccentric Southerner in "Cookie's Fortune"
1999 Reunited with Paul Thomas Anderson to play the trophy wife of a dying television executive in "Magnolia"
1999 Starred opposite Rupert Everett in the period drama "An Ideal Husband"
2000 Appeared in the Neil Jordan-directed short film "Not I," from the Samuel Beckett play
2001 Acted opposite Kevin Spacey in the film version of the award-winning novel "The Shipping News"
2001 Assumed role of FBI agent Clarice Starling in the sequel "Hannibal"
2001 Co-starred with Billy Crudup in "World Traveler," directed by Bart Freundlich; screened at Toronto Film Festival; shown at 2002 Sundance Film Festival
2002 Had featured role as a Texas housewife in one of the three stories that comprise "The Hours," based on Michael Cunningham's Pulitzer-winning novel and directed by Stephen Daldry; received SAG and Oscar nominations for her supporting role
2002 In January, began appearing in TV commercials as a spokesperson for Revlon cosmetics
2002 Reteamed with "Safe" director Todd Haynes to star in "Far From Heaven," as a suburban housewife in the 1950s; received Golden Globe, SAG and Oscar nominations leading role
2004 Played a mother struggling to cope with the loss of her 8-year-old son in the thriller "The Forgotten"
2004 Starred as Audrey Miller, a divorce lawyer who falls for Pierce Brosnan in the romantic comedy "Laws of Attraction"
2005 Portrayed a 1950's mother of ten in Jane Anderson's "The Prize Winner of Defiance Ohio" based on a true story
2006 Broadway debut in David Hare's political drama, "The Vertical Hour" directed by Sam Mendes
2006 Played an actress married to would-be philanderer (David Duchovny) in husband Bart Freundlich's "Trust the Man"
2006 Starred in Alfonso Cuaron's futuristic tale, "The Children of Men," adapted from P.D. James' novel
2007 Co-starred in Todd Haynes' film, "I'm Not There" a film reflecting the life of musician Bob Dylan.