Steele had her breakout role as Bernice in the 2004 comedy drama film
Spanglish. Steele went on to appear in an episode of the crime drama series
Law & Order; the dark comedy film
Mr. Gibb, which co-stars
Hayden Panettiere,
Tim Daly and
Dan Hedaya; and the drama film
Margaret, which co-stars
Matt Damon,
Matthew Broderick,
Anna Paquin,
Mark Ruffalo, and
Allison Janney. Steele appeared in the
Off-Broadway production of
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, which ran in September 2006 to December 2006 at the Acorn Theater. From 2007 to 2008, she appeared in the Off-Broadway play
Speech & Debate. From January to March 2012 she appeared in the Off-Broadway play
Russian Transport at the Acorn Theatre, playing the role of Mira. In late 2014, Steele made her
Broadway debut in
The Country House by
Donald Margulies, playing the granddaughter, Susie, opposite
Blythe Danner. In 2015, she appeared in the play
The Humans, first Off-Broadway and then on Broadway. She has also appeared in other Off-Broadway and regional productions. In 2009, Steele appeared on
Gossip Girl as Kira Abernathy,
Jenny Humphrey's rival at Cotillion and
Eric van der Woodsen's friend. Steele appeared in three episodes of
The Good Wife in 2011 as Marissa Gold, the daughter of Eli Gold (
Alan Cumming). She reprised the role from 2014 to 2016 in the show's later seasons, appearing in a total of 22 episodes. She went on to reprise the role of Marissa Gold in the
Good Wife spinoff series
The Good Fight, which premiered on
CBS All Access in 2017, and in CBS's
Elsbeth. In December 2025, it was announced that Steele will recur in the second season of NBC's
Brilliant Minds. ==Filmography==