She made her debut in the 1996 film Idiot Box, before rising to prominence in films including Paradise Road (1997), Welcome to Woop Woop (1997), Two Hands (1999), Better Than Sex (2000), The Monkey's Mask (2000), Mullet (2001), Teesh and Trude (2002), and The Caterpillar Wish (2006).

Porter is also highly recognised for her roles in television series, most notably, as Patricia Wright in East West 101, Eve Pritchard in East of Everything, as Kay Parker in Sisters of War, and as Marie Winter in the prison drama, Wentworth.

Porter was born in Newcastle, New South Wales, to Bill, a doctor, and Jenny, a nurse.

[8] Porter began her acting career in an episode of House Gang, a short lived television program.

She then had small roles in other Australian television programs in the late 1990s, including Big Sky, Wildside and Water Rats.

In late 2007, she appeared in East West 101, a six-part drama series that aired on SBS.

Porter first appeared in Wentworth during the fourth episode of the sixth season, broadcast on 10 July 2018.

[17] In 2001, she appeared in the Australian movie Mullet and had a small role in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.