McNeill worked as an actor in Wilmington, North Carolina, for one year, and then relocated to Kentucky, where she joined a repertory theater for six months.
The couple moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1999, where McNeill worked in human resources.
In 2012, she told The News Reporter, "I had planned to start auditioning, but by the time we were settled, I learned I had breast cancer...After a year of recovery, acting was at the top of my 'bucket list' so I started taking classes with casting director Tracy Kilpatrick...Tracy was very instrumental in helping me transition from stage to screen acting...Moreover, she really believed in me and cast me in my first feature film."
[1] In early June 2011, McNeill was performing in a local play, "The Hallelujah Girls,"[3] when she received an email offering her a three-episode audition for the second season of The Walking Dead.
Three weeks later, the day before a family trip to New York City, McNeill learned that the role was between either her or a second actress.
[1][4] After The Walking Dead, McNeill began appearing in both film and television, playing supporting roles.