She first became known to audiences as a cast member on The Real World: London (1995) before appearing in films such as The Human Stain (2003), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), Ladder 49 (2004), The Namesake (2006), Poseidon (2006), and The Last Kiss (2006).

[3] As a high school student, she won the annual Dolly Covergirl contest in Australia in 1988 and started modeling at the age of 17 throughout Europe.

[citation needed] Barrett appeared in the September 1998 issue of Maxim, in an article promoting the new fall television series.

They appeared in the film Middle Men (2009),[5] and she had a recurring role in the second season of the TV series Suits (2012-2013), playing a love interest of her husband's character.

[6][7] Barrett was previously engaged to TV host and comedian Chris Hardwick before her marriage to American actor Gabriel Macht in 2004.