After obtaining a degree in English literature from The University of Manchester,[2] Porter worked as a journalist on the Big Issue in The North.

She began to perform stand-up comedy whilst working as a researcher for Granada Television, on programmes such as The Mrs Merton Show.

[4] Her first high-profile acting role was alongside Christian Slater in the stage version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2004.

Porter starred in The Powder Room alongside Julia Morris and Gina Yashere, which was also broadcast on BBC Radio 2.

Lucy Porter has recorded her stand-up show The Good Life for a DVD release by independent label Go Faster Stripe,[8] and appeared in the 2008 and 2009 series of Mock the Week.

The same month, Lucy appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, achieving a record-breaking score of 35 with Steve Martin as her specialist subject.

Porter's marriage at the end of 2009 to her long-term partner, fellow comedian Justin Edwards, led to a substantial re-write of her successful 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe show Fool's Gold for her 2010 UK tour.

[10] In 2014, she wrote her debut stage play, The Fair Intellectual Club, which premièred at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the Assembly Rooms, directed by Marilyn Imrie.

[12] Porter, along with professional quizzer Jenny Ryan, launched in 2018 Fingers On Buzzers, a podcast about quiz and game shows.

[13] Along with Ryan, Porter returned to Richard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast in early 2019, and they discussed Fingers On Buzzers and other topics.