Baccarin landed her first film role in the improvised fashion-world comedy
Perfume (2001). This was followed by a lead role in
Way Off Broadway (2001). She served as
Natalie Portman's understudy in the
Central Park production of
The Seagull. and she reprised her role in the 2005 film
Serenity. in January 2012|left|244x244pxIn February 2005, Baccarin provided the voice for
Black Canary in multiple episodes of the animated series
Justice League Unlimited. She guest-starred in season two, episode seven of
How I Met Your Mother as Chloe, which aired on November 6, 2006. She also guest-starred in three episodes of the television series
The O.C. in 2006. Baccarin appeared in the unaired pilot episode of ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, playing a transgender woman, Carmen. In April 2006 Baccarin was announced to be playing the adult version of recurring villain Adria in the 10th season of Stargate SG-1. She first appeared in season-10 episode "Counterstrike" as adult Adria (the younger versions of Adria were previously played by other actresses). Baccarin reprised her role in the film Stargate: The Ark of Truth''. In May 2009, Baccarin made her
off-Broadway debut in
Theresa Rebeck's television satire
Our House at
Playwrights Horizons in New York City. She landed the lead role of Anna, the leader of the alien
Visitors, in ABC's
2009–2011 series V, a remake of the
1984 series. In May 2011, shortly following the airing of the show's second-season finale, producers announced that the show would not return for a third season. That same month, Baccarin joined the cast of the Showtime television drama
Homeland, for which she received praise for her role as the conflicted wife of a former
prisoner of war. On July 18, 2013, she was nominated for
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the 2013
Primetime Emmy awards for her performance. |thumb Baccarin appeared in the 2015 action-comedy
Spy as agent Karen Walker. In 2016, Baccarin appeared in the film
Deadpool as
Vanessa Carlysle. She reprised her role in the 2018 sequel
Deadpool 2. In 2015, Baccarin began a leading role as Dr.
Leslie Thompkins in the Fox show
Gotham. She portrayed the character in all five seasons of the show. She also played a recurring role as Erica Flynn, a woman who murdered her husband, and a romantic interest of Patrick Jane (
Simon Baker) from
The Mentalist, 2013 to 2015. In 2019, she played a psychologist on the Brazilian TV series
Sessão de Terapia (Therapy Session), her first production role in her native country. In 2020, Baccarin co-starred in the apocalyptic thriller
Greenland. In 2023, Baccarin starred in the action film
Fast Charlie. Since October 2025, she has appeared as lead Sheriff Mickey Fox in the
CBS drama
Sheriff Country. ==Political views and activism==