She was working as a waitress when she saw an advertisement in Backstage that read: "Wanted: 24-year-old Irish Catholic girl with long blonde hair."

Young responded to the ad and ended up starring in Tony Garnett's 1983 vigilante thriller Handgun, for which she had her hair cut off and in which she agreed to appear topless.

[4] She also appeared in films such as 9½ Weeks, Heat (1986), Jaws: The Revenge, Torch Song Trilogy, Night Game, The Wife, Daylight and Mercy.

Young portrayed Sister Mary in The Orphan Killer (2011), and starred in many U.S. independent and foreign films including Heading South,[3] Two Gates of Sleep and Conviction.

On television, Young portrayed FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino on The Sopranos[5] as well as various characters in the Law & Order franchise.