First stage appearance as Pirate Jenny in the Harvard University production of "The Threepenny Opera"
Became a member of the Theater Company of Boston; first professional appearance in "The Investigation"
Made off-Broadway debut with Theatre Company of Boston in "Adaptation/Next"
Made Broadway debut in "Two Gentlemen of Verona"; first association with playwright John Guare
Delivered only one line as a nurse in her first film "The Hospital"
First lead role, the television movie "The Girl Most Likely to..." (ABC) written by Joan Rivers
Co-starred with Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson in Mike Nichols' "The Fortune"
Performed in the Los Angeles stage production of "Vanities" with Sandy Duncan and Lucie Arnaz
Landed the memorable role of Rizzo, leader of the Pink Ladies, in the film adaptation of the musical "Grease"
Starred in first TV series "Stockard Channing in Just Friends" (CBS)
Played the title role in the true-life CBS movie "Silent Victory: The Kitty O'Neil Story"
Returned to series TV for the short-lived "The Stockard Channing Show" (CBS)
Played Sheila the distraught mother in the Connecticut stage production of "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg"
Succeeded Liza Minnelli in the Kander and Ebb musical "The Rink" on Broadway
Won a Tony for reprising the role of Sheila in "A Day in the Death of Joe Egg" on Broadway
Re-teamed with Nicholson and Nichols for the film "Heartburn"
Played Bunny Flingus in John Guare's "House of Blue Leaves"; earned a Tony nomination for Featured Actress in a Play
Earned an Emmy nomination for her supporting role in "Echoes in the Darkness" (CBS)
Received second Emmy nomination for her supporting role in the "Perfect Witness" (HBO)
Won acclaim for her performance as Ouisa Kittredge in Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation"; appeared in both the off and on Broadway productions
Acted in Guare's "Four Baboons Adoring the Sun" at the Lincoln Center Theater
Reprised role of Ouisa Kittredge for the film version of "Six Degrees of Separation"; received first Best Actress Oscar nomination
Garnered third Emmy nomination for her guest role as a minister's wife in the Disney Channel series "Avonlea"
Appeared as an abused wife who befriends three drag queens in "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar"
Played Harvey Keitel's old flame Ruby in Wayne Wang's "Smoke"
Returned to Lincoln Center to appear in the off-Broadway production of Tom Stoppard's "Hapgood"
Played one of the title roles in the HBO movie, "Edie & Pen"
Landed cameo role as the wife whose suicide brings together the members (including Bette Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn) of "The First Wives Club"
Starred as Barbara Whitney in the acclaimed USA Network film "An Unexpected Family"; earned fourth Emmy nomination
Returned to Broadway starring in the Lincoln Center revival of "The Little Foxes"
Played the former lover of Paul Newman in "Twilight"
Portrayed Rachel Luckman in the Showtime movie "The Baby Dance"; received fifth career Emmy nomination
Reprised role of Barbara Whitney in the sequel "An Unexpected Life" (USA Network)
Portrayed Eleanor of Aquitaine opposite Laurence Fishburne's King Henry II in the Broadway revival of "The Lion in Winter"; received Tony nomination
Joined the cast of NBC's political drama "The West Wing" in the recurring role of the First Lady; role made regular as of 2001; received Emmy (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005) and SAG (2004) nominations for Best Supporting Actress
Cast as a psychiatrist in the Showtime miniseries "A Girl Thing"
Played Cinderella's stepmother in the revisionist ABC movie "Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister"
Portrayed Judy Shepard in the NBC movie "The Matthew Shepard Story"
Cast opposite Diane Lane and Christopher Plummer in "Must Love Dogs"
Earned an Emmy nomination for the short-lived CBS series "Out of Practice"
Co-starred in "3 Needles," one of three short stories about the global HIV pandemic directed by Thom Fitzgerald
Narrated the Animal Planet hit series "Meerkat Manor"
Returned to Broadway for the musical "Pal Joey"; earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical
Returned to the stage, playing Lady Bracknell in Rough Magic Theatre Company¿s production of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest"
Co-starred with Rachel Griffiths, Stacy Keach, and Judith Light in the critically acclaimed play "Other Desert Cities" on Broadway