White has been a prolific stage actress, getting her start in
regional theatre. Some of her regional theater credits include
On the Verge at the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1985–1986,
Largo desolato at the Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, 1990–1991, ''
Marvin's Room at Seattle Repertory Theatre in January 1992, Absurd Person Singular in 1993 at the Long Wharf Theatre, Money and Friends'' by
David Williamson at the UCLA James A. Doolittle Theatre, Hollywood, California, presented by the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson in January to March 1993. White made her
Off-Broadway debut in
Lucky Stiff in 1988 at Playwrights Horizons. She appeared in
Just Say No (1988) and in the Off-Broadway WPA Theatre production of
Early One Evening At the Rainbow Bar and Grille (1989) by Bruce Graham. She appeared in
The Stick Wife by Darrah Cloud produced by the
Manhattan Theatre Club at Stage II in 1991. She appeared in Michael John LaChiusa's
Over Texas, presented as part of the Ensemble Studio Theater's
Marathon in 1991. She appeared at the Off-Broadway Second Stage production of the
Theresa Rebeck play
Spike Heels with
Kevin Bacon and
Tony Goldwyn in 1992.
Frank Rich wrote: "Julie White makes a far more vivid impression. Rail-thin but with a broad face and features, this actress has an off-center style and piquant wit that make her a natural for high comedy of this or any other period." White appeared in a one-woman show, Theresa Rebeck's
Bad Dates, written especially for her. The play premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in June 2003. On
Broadway, White appeared in
Wendy Wasserstein's
Pulitzer Prize-winning play,
The Heidi Chronicles, as a replacement. She also appeared in the made-for-television movie of
The Heidi Chronicles, which aired in 1995. In 2006, she appeared Off-Broadway in
The Little Dog Laughed by
Douglas Carter Beane, playing Diane, a screen agent, who, as one critic put it, is "a Mephistopheles in Manolos". The show transferred to Broadway in October 2006 with a new cast, including former
Grace Under Fire costar
Tom Everett Scott. She won the
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance. White played Nadine, the quirky neighbor on
Grace Under Fire. White joined the show when it launched in 1993 and appeared in the first four seasons. However, she did not appear in the show's final season. Her departure was attributed to conflict with the show's star,
Brett Butler. White has subsequently made several guest appearances on
HBO's
Six Feet Under as Mitzi Dalton-Huntley and on
NBC's
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Dr. Anne Morella. White also appeared on
Desperate Housewives as Amanda in the Season Two finale but chose to turn down a recurring role when she was offered the role in
The Little Dog Laughed. She plays Judy Witwicky, mother of the main human character Sam Witwicky, in
Transformers and its sequels,
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and
Transformers: Dark of the Moon. White appeared in the ABC sitcom
Cavemen in 2007. In 2008, White received a
Drama Desk Award nomination as Outstanding Actress in a Play for her role in the play
From Up Here. In 2009, she appeared in the HBO original movie
Taking Chance starring
Kevin Bacon. She also lent her voice to the 2009 animated film
Monsters vs. Aliens. White has served several times as a guest judge on the reality TV series
Iron Chef America. White stepped into the role of Masha, originated by Sigourney Weaver, in Christopher Durang's play
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, on Broadway, from July 28 to August 25, 2013, at the
Golden Theatre. In 2013, White was a series regular on Amazon's
Alpha House, a political comedy series written by
Doonesbury creator
Garry Trudeau. White plays Maddie Biggs, the wife of North Carolina Senator Gil John Biggs, played by
John Goodman. White will also appear in the show's second season, which is filming over the summer of 2014. In 2014 she joined the cast of the
Showtime television drama
Nurse Jackie for its sixth season. She appeared on Broadway at the
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in the
Manhattan Theatre Club production of the
Lisa D'Amour play
Airline Highway in April 2015 to June 2015. White was nominated for the 2015
Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play and the 2015 Tony Award, Featured Actress in a Play. Later in 2015, she played Kate opposite
Matthew Broderick and
Annaleigh Ashford in
Sylvia at the
Cort Theatre. In July 2017, White took over the role of Nora in ''
A Doll's House, Part 2'' at the
John Golden Theatre on Broadway, succeeding
Laurie Metcalf. In 2018, White was cast in a recurring role in the third season of
Netflix's
Designated Survivor as Lorraine Zimmer. In 2019, White joined the cast of
Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus at the
Booth Theatre on Broadway. An unexpected injury had forced Andrea Martin, the original star, to not be able to continue the show. Kristine Nielsen took over Martin's role, and White took over Nielsen's role, with only a few extra days for rehearsal. Both women were rewarded with Tony Award nominations for Featured Actress in a Play for their performances. In 2022, White was cast in the role of Helen Smallwood on the CBS sitcom
How We Roll. ==Filmography==