[8] Their maternal grandparents, Nadia (née Pletenciw; 1925–2014) and Theodor Spas (1921–1990), met at a displaced persons camp in Karlsfeld during World War II.

[21] During her junior year there, she found acting after being benched during a varsity soccer game; her friend convinced her to audition for the school production of The Vampire, and she won the lead role of Lady Margaret.

[23] In her final year at SU, she portrayed Nina Zarechnaya in The Seagull at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and the production won the top prize.

[25] Farmiga made her Broadway debut alongside Ed Harris and Daniel Massey in October 1996, understudying the role of Emmi Straube in Ronald Harwood's play Taking Sides.

[28] Following these stage roles, she co-starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame western television film Rose Hill in April 1997, portraying Emily Elliot.

[29] Farmiga had a main role in Fox's short-lived fantasy adventure series Roar (1997), alongside Heath Ledger and Sebastian Roché.

[30] The following year, she guest-starred in an episode of NBC's procedural drama series Law & Order, portraying Lindsay Carson, the daughter of a convicted murderer who goes on her own killing spree.

[31] She made her feature film debut playing a supporting role alongside Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in the drama-thriller Return to Paradise (1998).

[40] The following year, Farmiga had her breakthrough role as a drug-addicted mother, Irene Morrison, in the independent drama film Down to the Bone,[41] which premiered at Sundance in January 2004.

[42] Praising her performance, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote: "If there were an ounce of taste left in Hollywood, the magnificent Vera Farmiga would be a front-runner for the Best Actress Oscar".

[44] Farmiga next appeared alongside Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston in the HBO drama film Iron Jawed Angels (2004), as the Polish-American suffragette Ruza Wenclawska.

[49] Farmiga then appeared alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon as police psychiatrist Dr. Madolyn Madden in Martin Scorsese's crime drama The Departed (2006).

David Edelstein of New York magazine stated that Farmiga's performance on the latter film was "scarily good", and added: "She's always visibly calculating, thinking better of something reckless she's about to do – then doing it anyway".

[60] That same year, she starred in the war drama film In Transit alongside John Malkovich,[61] and portrayed Central Intelligence Agency operative Erica Van Doren in the political thriller Nothing But the Truth.

[65] She then appeared as Aurora de Valday in Niki Caro's romantic drama The Vintner's Luck, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival.

[74] Farmiga then starred in the surrealist romantic comedy Henry's Crime as stage actress Julie Ivanova,[75] which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

[100] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called Farmiga's performance "superb" and Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times identified her as "the main reason [the series] is surprisingly good".

[107] Farmiga portrayed paranormal investigator and self-professed clairvoyant Lorraine Warren, alongside Patrick Wilson,[108] for which she was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance.

[109] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Farmiga resonates an extraordinary sensitivity" in the role, while Justin Chang of Variety called her performance "moving" and highlighted her chemistry with Wilson as a "rock-solid rapport".

[117] Farmiga next co-starred in David Dobkin's drama film The Judge (2014) as Samantha Powell, the love interest and high school girlfriend of Robert Downey Jr.'s character.

Farmiga co-starred as Dr. Nora Phillips in Neill Blomkamp's BMW short film The Escape (2016), alongside Dakota Fanning and Clive Owen.

[125] Also in January 2018, she appeared as a politician in Amazon's sci-fi anthology series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams, in an episode directed by Dee Rees.

[132] Also in May 2019, Farmiga portrayed prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer in Ava DuVernay's Netflix crime drama miniseries When They See Us, based on the Central Park jogger case.

[135] In May 2021, Farmiga made a special guest appearance in Netflix's drama limited series Halston, based on the life of the fashion designer of the same name, opposite Ewan McGregor in the title role.

[138] Following this, she starred as Eleanor Bishop, the mother of Hailee Steinfeld's character, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero miniseries Hawkeye, which premiered on Disney+ in November 2021.

[139] In August 2022, Farmiga starred in the lead role of Dr. Anna Pou in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ limited series Five Days at Memorial,[140] an adaptation of the book of the same name by Sheri Fink.

[147][148] Farmiga met actor Sebastian Roché while starring together in the fantasy adventure television series Roar; they eloped to the Bahamas after it ended in 1997,[30] and were divorced in 2004.

[70][73][72][71] Farmiga received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role in Bates Motel (2013–2017).

[94][99][100] For her performance in the miniseries When They See Us (2019), Farmiga received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.