Thoms is known for her role of Mahandra McGinty in the television show
Wonderfalls. She also played the part of Sasha in the US version of the television series
As If, which was cancelled after three episodes. In 2005, she was added to the cast of the CBS crime drama
Cold Case, as the homicide detective, Kat Miller. Thoms has also made guest appearances on
Law & Order and
The Shield. Thoms has appeared in several movies, most notably in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical
Rent in which she plays Joanne Jefferson, lawyer and lover of Maureen Johnson (
Idina Menzel). She took over the role from
Fredi Walker, who played Joanne in the original
Broadway production of
Rent but, at age 43, was deemed too old to reprise the role. Prior to being cast as Joanne, Thoms had considered herself a fan of the show, having seen it on Broadway several times. She was featured in the 2002 Comedy Central film ''
Porn 'n Chicken and the 2004 films Brother to Brother
and The Warrior Class
. Thoms appeared in the 2006 film version of The Devil Wears Prada as Lily. Thoms has completed filming on the City Lights Pictures movie Descent
along with Rent
co-stars Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Rosario Dawson and will soon begin filming Jimmie'' with co-stars
Vanessa Williams and
Brian McKnight. She appeared in
Quentin Tarantino's
Death Proof, alongside
Zoë Bell, Rosario Dawson and
Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Thoms made her Broadway debut in Regina Taylor's
Drowning Crow. She has also appeared in several off-Broadway and regional productions, including
Up Against the Wind (New York Theatre Workshop),
The Oedipus Plays (The Shakespeare Theater),
A Raisin in the Sun (
Baltimore CenterStage) ''Joe Turner's Come and Gone
(Missouri Rep), The Exonerated'' (Off Broadway's The Culture Project) and
The Antigone Project (The Women's Project). On July 18, 2008, she joined the final cast of
Rent starting July 26, 2008, reprising the character of Joanne, replacing
Merle Dandridge. The final performance was made into a DVD:
Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway. Thoms reprised her role as Joanne for another production of
Rent, directed by
Neil Patrick Harris, at the Hollywood Bowl from August 6–8, 2010. In the fall of 2010 she appeared in the concert revue
For The Record: Quentin Tarantino in Los Angeles, presented by ROCKLA for Show at Barre. It ran from August 12, 2010, to October 30, 2010, and also starred
Jenna Leigh Green,
Autumn Reeser,
Ty Taylor, and
Audra Mae. From November 2010 through January 2011, Thoms starred in Show at Barre's
For The Record: John Hughes, alongside
Barrett Foa,
Von Smith and Ty Taylor. In 2011 she appeared at Show at Barre in the revue
For the Record: Baz Luhrmann, from February 12, 2011, to June 30, 2011, with Jenna Leigh Green,
Arielle Jacobs, Tinuke Oyefule and
Kate Reinders. She played Etta, Diana Prince's personal assistant, in
NBC's
Wonder Woman pilot. Thoms had a role in the 2014 version of
Annie, playing Annie's "fake mother", a character based on Lily St. Regis in the original musical. In 2016, she appeared in the Broadway revival of
Falsettos as Dr. Charlotte. Since 2018, Thoms has played the recurring role of Karen Wilson in the Los Angeles
first responders drama
9-1-1. She will reprise the role of Lily in the 2026 film
The Devil Wears Prada 2. == Awards ==