Pike studied at Wadham College, Oxford and appeared in stage productions including Romeo and Juliet at the National Youth Theatre, before beginning her acting career.

She had her breakthrough for her film debut as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day (2002), and had supporting roles in the period dramas Pride & Prejudice (2005), An Education (2009) and Made in Dagenham (2010).

In the next decade, Pike had mainstream film appearances in Johnny English Reborn (2011), Wrath of the Titans (2012), Jack Reacher (2012) and The World's End (2013).

She graduated with an Upper Second-class honours degree in 2001, having taken a year off to pursue her acting career, gaining stage experience in David Hare's Skylight, Arthur Miller's All My Sons, and several plays by William Shakespeare.

[10] She made appearances on British television shows, including A Rather English Marriage (1998),[11] Wives and Daughters (1999), and the miniseries Love in a Cold Climate (2001).

[12] Pike then played Elizabeth Malet in The Libertine (2004), co-starring Johnny Depp,[13] which won her the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress.

[14] In the same year, she portrayed Rose in Promised Land, a film about Israel,[11] and starred as scientist Samantha Grimm in the cinematic adaptation of the computer game series Doom.

Pike recorded voicework for a lead role in the film Jackboots on Whitehall (2010) and lent her voice to a series of James Bond audio books, narrating The Spy Who Loved Me.

[22] She starred as Helen Rodin, the female lead alongside Tom Cruise in the thriller Jack Reacher, an adaptation of the novel One Shot by Lee Child.

"[29] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter said that she "is powerful and commanding ... Physically and emotionally, Pike looks to have immersed herself in this profoundly calculating character, and the results are impressive."

In 2019, she was cast in the role of Moiraine in Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Robert Jordan's fantasy epic The Wheel of Time,[31] which was released in November 2021.

In 2021, Pike starred as con artist Marla Grayson in the crime thriller I Care a Lot, directed by J Blakeson and co-starring Peter Dinklage, Eiza González and Dianne Wiest.

Clark Gregg plays the role of President Wilson and Esther Povitsky portrays Trudy Grayson, the First Lady's best friend.

[54] In 2015, Pike signed an open letter for which the ONE Campaign had been collecting signatures; the letter was addressed to Angela Merkel and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, urging them to focus on women, as they would serve as the head of the Group of Seven (G7) and the African Union (AU), respectively, which would start to set the priorities for development funding in preparation for a United Nations (UN) summit in September 2015, which was intended to establish new development goals for the next generation.

[55] In 2021, Pike became an investor in, and the creative director for, the psychedelic-inspired meditation app Lumenate, which purports to guide the user into an altered state of consciousness with flashing lights.

[56] Also in 2021, Pike became the first Ambassador for Mines Advisory Group, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning NGO that assists people affected by landmines, unexploded ordnance, and small arms and light weapons.