Her numerous film and television roles have included Yvette in 24 Hour Party People (2002), Sonya in It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004), Princess Una in Stardust (2007), and Sadie Young on EastEnders in 2013–2014.

[2] As Princess Una in the 2007 big-budget romantic fantasy Stardust, she co-starred alongside a large ensemble cast that also featured Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter O'Toole, Sienna Miller, Rupert Everett and Robert De Niro.

Magowan had a featured role as Eve in two episodes of Primeval in 2009;[3] was in the main cast of the 2011 action thriller A Lonely Place to Die, and that same year played Jane Dutton in the psychological drama series Exile.

In 2012, she played Mrs. Gammon in the horror film Elfie Hopkins and appeared as Natalie in the comedy Outside Bet, starring Bob Hoskins and Jenny Agutter.

Magowan also starred as Martha Bannerman in four episodes of A Dinner of Herbs, an adaptation of the Catherine Cookson novel made for British television in 2000;[2] and she appeared on series 15 (2012) of Silent Witness in the two-part story 'Domestic', as murder victim Justine Thompson.