[2] With no formal training, she auditioned for her first role, in the 1983 film Runners (written by Stephen Poliakoff and directed by Charles Sturridge), at the age of 14, telling her parents she had done so only when she had the part.
She went on to appear in numerous films, including Revolution (1985), Neil Jordan's Mona Lisa (1986), Cry Freedom (1987), Tree of Hands (1989), The Krays (1990), Jack and Sarah (1995), Croupier (1998) and I Am Dina (2002).
She spent five months in Hollywood before returning to the UK to play the student nurse Karen O'Malley in the BBC drama series Casualty.
[citation needed] She subsequently wrote two plays in Channel 4's Coming Up series, Imprints (2007) and Little Bill Um (2008), the latter also being her directorial debut.
In 2011, she wrote and directed a short film called Shoot Me starring Claire Skinner and Paul Andrew Williams, and produced by Rankin.