2004–2009: Career beginnings and acting Munn worked as an intern at
NBC affiliate
KJRH-TV in
Tulsa before relocating to
Los Angeles. In 2004, she interned at
Fox Sports Networks and worked as a
sideline reporter for college football and women's basketball. She said that she disliked the experience: "I was trying to be something I wasn't, and that made me really uncomfortable on live TV." She also appeared in ''National Lampoon's Strip Poker'', filmed at
Hedonism II, a
naturist resort in
Negril,
Jamaica, with
Kato Kaelin. The films aired on
DirecTV and
In Demand pay-per-view. In late 2005, Munn began her role as teen surfer Mily Acuna over two seasons of the television drama
Beyond the Break, which aired during
Noggin's teen block,
The N. She enjoys surfing and continues to practice the sport. She originally auditioned for the role of Kai Kealoha, but the producers wanted a "local girl". In 2006, Munn won a contest put out to the public to find a replacement for departing co-host Kevin Rose on the popular
G4 network program
Attack of the Show! She then began co-hosting with
Kevin Pereira on April 10. She replaced temporary co-host Sarah Lane. The network, devoted to the world of video games and the video games lifestyle, was at first hesitant to hire Munn. Although she admits video games were her "weak point", she was confident in her technical knowledge. On the show, she was featured with journalist
Anna David in a segment called "In Your Pants", which deals with sex and relationship questions from viewers. While working on
Attack of the Show!, she hosted
Formula D, a now defunct program about American
drift racing, and an online
podcast called
Around the Net, formerly known as
The Daily Nut, for G4. She left
Attack of the Show! in December 2010 and was replaced by
Candace Bailey. She appeared in the
Rob Schneider film
Big Stan (2007), where she played Schneider's character's receptionist Maria.
2010–2014: The Newsroom and breakthrough '' Women of the Year Awards She had roles in the films
Date Night (2010) and
Iron Man 2 (2010).
Robert Downey Jr. praised Munn for her improvisation skills and led the crew in a round of applause. Munn hosted
Microsoft's Bing-a-thon, an advertisement on
Hulu for the Microsoft search-engine
Bing, on June 8, 2009, alongside
Jason Sudeikis. Munn appeared in
ABC Family's
Greek, portraying Cappie's love interest, Lana. In May 2010,
NBC announced that Munn would star on the television series
Perfect Couples. The half-hour romantic comedy premiered on January 20, 2011. The series was canceled before it completed its first season run. On June 3, 2010, Munn debuted in her new role as a correspondent on
Comedy Central's
The Daily Show. Her credentials were questioned by
Irin Carmon of the website
Jezebel, who suggested that Munn was better known as a sex symbol than as a comedian. Carmon's column was denounced by Munn and the
Daily Show female writers, producers, and correspondents, 32 of whom posted a rebuttal on the show's website in which they asserted that the description of the
Daily Show office given by the Jezebel piece was not accurate. She went on to appear in 16 more episodes as a correspondent from June 2010 to September 2011, with
TV Guide naming her signature segment "Tiger Mothering", in which she mocked the high expectations of Chinese mothers, in part by interviewing her own mother. Her last episode as a correspondent aired September 2, 2011. She returned for a brief segment in host
Jon Stewart's final show on August 6, 2015. In 2010, Munn guest-starred on NBC's comedy-drama
Chuck as a
CIA agent. In 2011, Munn appeared in the comedy film ''
I Don't Know How She Does It (2011) as Momo. In 2012, Munn had a leading role in The Babymakers, a minor role in Freeloaders, and appeared in Magic Mike'', directed by
Steven Soderbergh. She also appeared as Angie, Nick's stripper girlfriend, in three episodes in season two of FOX's sitcom
New Girl. Munn gained prominence in a lead role in
Aaron Sorkin's drama series
The Newsroom on
HBO. In the series, she played Sloan Sabbith, an economist who worked on the show's fictional news network,
ACN, alongside lead anchor Will McAvoy (
Jeff Daniels). The series ran for three seasons from 2012 to 2015. Since then, Munn and her costar
Thomas Sadoski have discussed with Sorkin their desire for the show to return. Munn played a correspondent in "True Colors", the May 12, 2014 episode of the Showtime documentary series
Years of Living Dangerously in which she interviewed Washington State Governor
Jay Inslee about his efforts to reduce CO2 emissions in his home state. As of June 2014, Munn has been hired as the main promoter of Proactiv acne cleanser products starring in several commercials and one infomercial for the product. The commercials show Munn experiencing acne herself.
2015–present Beginning in January 2015, Munn voiced the character Phoebe Callisto on the
Disney Junior animated series
Miles from Tomorrowland. In 2016, Munn was cast as
Elizabeth Braddock / Psylocke in
X-Men: Apocalypse (for which she turned down an offer to appear in the
Deadpool film of that same year). Though the film received mixed reviews, it was a financial success, grossing over $500 million worldwide. The same year, Munn had a leading role portraying a technical supervisor in the comedy film
Office Christmas Party. She also had a starring role in the television series
Six as a
CIA operative and appeared on
Season 13 of ''
America's Got Talent'' as a guest judge in the season's second Judge Cuts episode. Munn also starred as a biologist in the 2018 science fiction horror film
The Predator, the fourth installment in the
Predator franchise. Following the film's release, it was revealed that Munn's co-star, Steven Wilder Striegel, with whom she shared a scene, was a registered
sex offender who had preyed on a 14-year-old girl. and the film
The Gateway (2021), about a social worker assigned to the care of the daughter of a single mother (played by Munn) who intervenes when the dad returns from prison and lures them into a life of crime. From 2021 to 2024, Munn voiced the
supervillainness
Akiko Yokohama / Lady Bullseye II in the
adult animated series Hit-Monkey. In 2025, she began starring in the
Apple TV+ drama series
Your Friends and Neighbors alongside
Jon Hamm and
Amanda Peet. She was named one of ''
Time's'' Women of the Year for 2025. ==In print==