[citation needed] She has guest-starred in a number of notable television series, including The West Wing, 7th Heaven, 8 Simple Rules, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Judging Amy, Will & Grace, Matlock, L.A. Law, The Practice, Quantum Leap, Home Improvement, Boston Legal, Roseanne, Get a Life, Coach, Profiler, Medium, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Two and a Half Men, Lie to Me and among other series.
She also played the part of Kirsten, Rose Nylund's (Betty White) daughter in the final season of The Golden Girls and Ronni Rapalono, the mistress of Joey Tribbiani's father on Friends.
She starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Brigitte Nielsen in the action/thriller Cobra (1986), and played Demi Moore's obstetrician in The Seventh Sign (1988).
When the series was picked up, however, it was decided that having the female lead be from such a different social status compared to the rest of the cast would be unworkable, so the character of Claire was dropped and replaced by Elaine Benes.
In 2018, Garlington received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her role as Darlene in Broken.