As a child, Gilpin took drama classes at
Dallas Children's Theater. In 1979, upon graduating from
Skyline High School, Gilpin enrolled in
University of Texas at Austin, majoring in drama, until she was expelled from the acting program at the end of sophomore year. After that, she took acting classes in
London, then returned to Dallas and worked briefly as a makeup artist. She apprenticed for five summers at
Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, during her last summer, she was cast as the lead in
Hawthorne Country, her first major starring role. She joined the Actors Equity in 1988. Gilpin appeared on the TV series
Cheers, playing Holly Matheson in the 21st episode of the 11th season, which aired in April 1993. From 1993 until 2004, Gilpin played Roz Doyle in the television series
Frasier, a spin-off of
Cheers, starring
Kelsey Grammer as
Frasier Crane, the role he had played on
Cheers since 1984. She was given the role after being one of over 300 actresses to answer the casting call. Gilpin’s fellow finalist for the role was Lisa Kudrow. Along with the principal cast, Gilpin won a
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 1999. In 2009, Gilpin appeared in the ABC Family drama
Make It or Break It, for which she received a
Gracie Award in the category of "Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series". Gilpin and
Frasier co-star
Jane Leeves ran a production company, Bristol Cities (named from the
cockney rhyming slang), whose projects included a Fox network pilot titled
Minister of Divine, an American remake of the British sitcom
The Vicar of Dibley with
Kirstie Alley (another
Cheers regular) in a starring role. Gilpin is the
voice artist for the character Jane Proudfoot in
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. She provided the voices of
Desiree in the
Nickelodeon animated television series
Danny Phantom,
Volcana in
Superman: The Animated Series and
Justice League,
Hecate in
Hercules, and Kate Corrigan in the
Hellboy animated films. Gilpin also did voice work for several
Wells Fargo and Johnsonville Meats TV commercials. Gilpin has appeared on the television series
Medium and
Desperate Housewives. She has a supporting role on the television series
Make It or Break It and has appeared on
Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She also starred alongside
Teri Polo in the
Lifetime film
For the Love of a Child. In 2012, Gilpin guest-starred with another
Cheers alum,
Ted Danson, in
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She had a recurring role in
Men at Work on
TBS as editor of
Full Steam magazine. In the second season of
Scorpion, she was introduced as Katherine Cooper, a team superior in
Homeland Security. In 2023, Gilpin reprised her role as Roz Doyle in
Paramount's
Frasier reboot. == Personal life ==