With no formal training, she auditioned for her first role, in the 1983 film
Runners (written by
Stephen Poliakoff and directed by
Charles Sturridge), at the age of 14, telling her parents she had done so only when she had the part. She went on to appear in numerous films, including
Revolution (1985),
Neil Jordan's
Mona Lisa (1986),
Cry Freedom (1987),
Tree of Hands (1989),
The Krays (1990),
Jack and Sarah (1995),
Croupier (1998) and
I Am Dina (2002). On television her roles include the episode "The Man Upstairs" (1988) of
The Ray Bradbury Theatre,
Thin Air, ''The Men's Room, Safe
in which she was nominated for the Royal Television Society Best TV performer, and Beyond Reason''. She spent five months in
Hollywood before returning to the UK to play the student nurse Karen O'Malley in the
BBC drama series
Casualty. In 1998, she starred in
Croupier. She wrote the short film
King of London during her time there. She subsequently wrote two plays in
Channel 4's
Coming Up series,
Imprints (2007) and
Little Bill Um (2008), the latter also being her directorial debut. In 2009, she appeared in the BBC drama
Criminal Justice. In 2011, she wrote and directed a short film called
Shoot Me starring
Claire Skinner and
Paul Andrew Williams, and produced by
Rankin. ==Personal life==