'' at Cannes in 1992 Tripplehorn began her career on stage. She appeared
Off-Broadway in
John Patrick Shanley's The Big Funk in 1990, then co-starred with
Val Kilmer in a 1993 production of
John Ford's 1630s play ''
'Tis Pity She's a Whore''. She has also been on
Broadway in
Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters opposite
Amy Irving and
Lili Taylor. In 1992, she made her film debut, in a supporting role in the erotic thriller
Basic Instinct. The following year, she appeared as
Abby McDeere opposite
Tom Cruise in
The Firm and in 1995 had another lead role alongside
Kevin Costner in
Waterworld. As lead actress, she starred in the 1997 box-office bomb ''
'Til There Was You. The next few years she had supporting roles in small films, including Office Killer, Monument Ave., and Sliding Doors; and in 1999 appeared opposite Hugh Grant in the British romantic comedy Mickey Blue Eyes. She was cast opposite Madonna in the 2002 film Swept Away''. In 2006, Tripplehorn was cast in a leading role as
Barbara Henrickson in the
HBO drama series
Big Love, opposite
Bill Paxton, regarded as the most successful role of her career. In 2009, she played
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the HBO movie
Grey Gardens. She was nominated for a
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for this performance. In 2011, she appeared in
Five, a movie on the
Lifetime television network. In July 2012, Tripplehorn joined the cast of CBS procedural
Criminal Minds in
season eight, replacing
Paget Brewster's character
Emily Prentiss. She received a six-figure salary per episode of
Criminal Minds. She left the series after two seasons and
Jennifer Love Hewitt replaced her as a new agent. Tripplehorn has appeared in the independent films
Little Pink House (2017), with
Catherine Keener, and
Gloria Bell (2018), starring
Julianne Moore. In 2020, she returned to television in the Hulu miniseries
Mrs. America opposite
Cate Blanchett,
Sarah Paulson,
Rose Byrne,
Tracey Ullman and
Margo Martindale. She was later cast in a recurring role in the HBO period drama series
The Gilded Age starring
Christine Baranski and
Cynthia Nixon. == Personal life ==