[8] Patton has song-writing credits on multiple Robin Thicke albums under the name "Max", derived from her middle name (Maxine).

In 2006, she appeared alongside OutKast members Andre Benjamin and Big Boi in the musical film Idlewild written and directed by Bryan Barber.

[10] Patton's big break came in 2006 when she landed the pivotal female lead role of Claire Kuchever in the science fiction thriller Déjà Vu alongside Denzel Washington.

[13] In an interview with Hot 97 Paula revealed on Ebro in the Morning that she ghostwrote with her ex-husband Robin Thicke under the name Max Haddington.

In 2008, Patton played television reporter Kate Madison in the comedy-drama Swing Vote alongside Kevin Costner and Amy Carson, the wife of Ben (Kiefer Sutherland) in the supernatural horror film Mirrors.

In Lee Daniels's critically acclaimed drama film Precious (2009), she played Ms. Blu Rain, a teacher at the alternative high school in Harlem, New York, who teaches and mentors disadvantaged students, including the titular character, Claireece Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe).

[14] In late 2010, it was announced that Patton would succeed Sharon Stone as the new full time assistant district attorney on the NBC crime drama series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

[26] In January 2017, Patton was cast in the lead role of the ABC drama series Somewhere Between, which premiered as a mid-season replacement on July 24, 2017, and was cancelled after one season.