In the early 1990s, Reyes began her television career with guest starring roles in a number of shows, including
Law & Order,
NYPD Blue, and
The Sopranos. She also had a recurring role in
Oz as Tina Rivera. She is best known for her portrayal of nurse
Carla Espinosa on the
NBC comedy
Scrubs from 2001 to 2009. She has starred in a number of made for television movies, primarily for
Lifetime network, including
Little Girl Lost: The Delimar Vera Story (2008), and
The Pregnancy Project (2012). After leaving
Scrubs, Reyes guest-starred in several shows, including
Castle,
Medium,
Off the Map, and
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2011, she starred as a mother dealing with her estranged husband's return into her life after his stint in prison in the independent drama
Gun Hill Road. The film is set in Reyes' native Bronx, and its title refers to a real-life street that intersects Bainbridge Avenue on which Reyes herself grew up. Reyes also had small supporting roles in several films, including
Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five (1998),
Bringing Out the Dead (1999),
Washington Heights (2002), and
Dirty (2005). In 2012, Reyes was cast as series regular Zoila Diaz, the senior maid, in the ABC comedy-drama pilot
Devious Maids, created by
Marc Cherry. On May 14, 2012, the series was not picked up by ABC, but on June 22, 2012,
Lifetime ordered a run of thirteen episodes. The series premiered June 23, 2013. The
Devious Maids finale episode aired on August 8, 2016. Two weeks following the show's cancellation, Reyes was cast opposite
Niecy Nash in the TNT crime comedy-drama
Claws playing the role of Annalise "Quiet Ann" Zayas. The series premiered on June 11, 2017 and ended in 2022 after four seasons. She also had the recurring roles as Dina Milagro in the CW comedy series
Jane the Virgin (2015–19) and as Ramona in the Netflix comedy
One Day at a Time (2017–2020). She played the role of Eva, executive producer of media conglomerate Waystar Royco's ATN news channel, in the HBO drama series
Succession in 2018. Reyes also had a recurring roles in the comedy series
Search Party and
Better Things, and guest starred on
Black-ish. In 2022, Reyes guest-starred in season 3 of
Batwoman where she portrayed Kiki Roulette who was responsible for building
Joker's
joy buzzer. Reyes starred in the independent films
My Name Is David (2015) and
Girl Flu. (2016), and had a supporting role in the thriller film
The Circle (2017). She received
Imagen Awards for Best Actress - Drama (Television) for her performance in the 2021 made-for-television film
Torn from Her Arms. She appeared opposite her
One Day at a Time co-star
Justina Machado in the 2020 drama film,
All Together Now. In 2022, she had a supporting role in the supernatural horror film,
Smile, it was a box office success, grossing over $217 million worldwide. The following year, Reyes played the leading role in the psychological horror film,
Birth/Rebirth. It premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival and Reyes received positive reviews for her performance. She received
Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Performance nomination for her performance. Also in 2023, Reyes had a recurring role in the horror-comedy series
The Horror of Dolores Roach, appearing again opposite Justina Machado. Reyes appeared as the mother of the lead character in the romantic drama film,
Turtles All the Way Down based on the 2017
novel of the same name by
John Green. She also was cast opposite
Kaitlin Olson in a series regular role in the ABC comedy-drama series
High Potential based on the French series
HPI. ==Personal life==