[1] Growing up, she performed in local theater productions,[1] with her first role at the age of 10 as an orphan pickpocket in the musical Oliver, and won the Miss Nebraska Pre-Teen pageant.

[3] As a member of the original Broadway casts of Mary Poppins in 2006 and Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008, she performed at the 2007 and 2009 Tony Awards.

[6] Kurtzuba portrayed Mrs. Kovacevic, a social services clerk with a Russian accent, in the 2014 film adaptation of Annie.

[9] In The Wolf of Wall Street, directed by Martin Scorsese, she played Kimmie Belzer, a single mom hired by Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the only female stockbroker at the company.

[2] Kurtzuba had recurring roles as Olivia on The Good Wife on CBS, as Sergeant (and later Captain) Paula McNichols on Blue Bloods, as cult member Sabrina on The Leftovers on HBO, and on the Paramount Network miniseries Waco.