She is known for appearing in science fiction and horror films, and has earned numerous accolades, including three Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

[2] In 1963, she guest starred twice in NBC's medical drama about psychiatry, The Eleventh Hour, in the episodes "The Silence of Good Men" and "My Name is Judith, I'm Lost, You See".

The infamous chestburster scene in the film featured a genuine reaction from Cartwright, who had not been informed beforehand that blood would be involved;[5][6] co-star Tom Skerritt confirmed this by saying, "What you saw on camera was the real response.

[7] Her subsequent film roles include The Right Stuff (1983), Flight of the Navigator (1986), The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Money Talks (1997), Scary Movie 2 (2001), Kinsey (2004) and Straight-Jacket (2004).

[citation needed] A frequent performer in television, she has played guest roles in such series as Route 66, Leave It to Beaver, The Mod Squad, Miami Vice, Baywatch, L.A. Law, ER, The X-Files, Chicago Hope, Will & Grace, Touched by an Angel, Judging Amy, Six Feet Under, The Closer, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

In 2014, Cartwright reprised her role as Joan Lambert for DLC episodes in Alien: Isolation based on the original film, and appeared in the remake of The Town That Dreaded Sundown.

[12] Cartwright's many theatre credits include Electra, Talley's Folly, The Bat[13] and The Master Builder,[14] for which she received brilliant reviews.