For her work on The Good Wife, Preston received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.

She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Evansville (1990), followed by an acting diploma from the Juilliard School's Drama Division[1][2] (Group 23: 1990–1994).

[5] On July 31, 2010, Preston and Emerson read A. R. Gurney's play Love Letters at the Charleston Stage; they performed it as a fundraiser for the venue.

[6] Preston had a recurring role playing Elsbeth Tascioni, an eccentric but extremely effective trial lawyer on CBS's The Good Wife.

In the 2015 final season of The Good Wife, she earned her second Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nomination.

[citation needed] Preston was then cast in the drama-comedy Claws playing Polly Marks (Polly-Pol), a mild-mannered preppy with an "ankle bracelet" who recently served time in prison for identity theft.