Cleghorne is best known for her tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 1991 to 1995.

Cleghorne was ranked the 69th greatest Saturday Night Live cast member by Rolling Stone magazine.

[3] During her tenure she performed impressions such as Alfre Woodard, Dr. Dre, Anita Baker, Florence Griffith Joyner, Debbie Allen, Mary J. Blige, Natalie Cole, Patti LaBelle, Marla Gibbs, Robin Quivers, Toni Morrison, Joycelyn Elders, Tina Turner, and Whoopi Goldberg.

"[5] Her former Saturday Night Live costar Jay Mohr's book Gasping for Airtime notes that Cleghorne did not get along well with some of the other cast members during her time on the show.

[6] In 1995, Cleghorne left SNL to star as single mother Ellen Carlson on Cleghorne!, a sitcom that aired for one season on The WB network, and which also starred fellow SNL alumnus Garrett Morris, and Sherri Shepherd in her first acting role.

She later appeared in independent films and comedies including Mr. Wrong (1996), Armageddon (1998), Coyote Ugly (2000), Little Nicky (2000), and Old School (2003).

[citation needed] The same year she appeared in the 40th anniversary special of Saturday Night Live, calling the experience "a cleansing".