Media personality Burton's first big break came when working as a
VJ for
MTV's
Total Request Live (TRL). She was supposed to be a guest commentator for one segment but producers decided to offer her a permanent job. Burton went on to present at the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards and MTV's ''Iced Out New Year's Eve
. Burton went on to portray herself on The WB drama series Dawson's Creek'' in 2002, which marked her scripted television series acting debut. In October 2017, when news of the
Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases broke, Burton
retweeted a 2003 video clip from
TRL Uncensored in which
Ben Affleck squeezed her breast on air. This was in response to a fan tweet that quipped, "[Affleck] also grabbed Hilarie Burton-Morgan's breasts on
TRL once. Everyone forgot though." Burton replied, "I didn't forget [about it] ... I was a kid." Affleck, who'd just publicly criticized
Harvey Weinstein, subsequently responded on
Twitter to apologize to Burton. When asked about the incident a month later on
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Affleck said, "I don't remember it, but I absolutely apologize for it. I certainly don't think she's lying or making it up.'" In 2021, Burton started a podcast with
One Tree Hill co-stars
Sophia Bush and
Bethany Joy Lenz titled
Drama Queens.
Acting and producing Burton was cast in The WB drama series
One Tree Hill as
Peyton Sawyer, an independent visual and musical artist and cheerleader, in April 2003. The series premiered on September 23, 2003, and went on to be the network's top rated program of the year. The role was considered Burton's breakout role and is her best known to date. For her role in the series, Burton was featured on the cover of
Maxim,
American Cheerleader Magazine and
People. Her performance received critical praise and she earned three
Teen Choice Award nominations. In May 2009,
The CW announced Burton would not be returning for the show's
seventh season based on her own decision not to return, contrary to rumors she left owing to salary issues.
One Tree Hill heightened Burton's public profile. In May 2007, she was ranked #77 in
Maxims "Hot 100 List of 2007". She also appeared on the cover of the November 2006 edition of
Maxim with
One Tree Hill co-stars Sophia Bush and
Danneel Harris. In previous years, Burton ranked #2 on
Femme Fatales "The 50 Sexiest Women of 2005", and #12 on
Much Music's "20 Hottest Women of 2003". While still a
One Tree Hill cast member, Burton made her feature film debut opposite
Allison Janney and
Cheryl Hines in the 2005 well-reviewed drama
Our Very Own which centered on five small-town teenagers who dream of a better life. Burton and her co-stars received the Outstanding Ensemble Acting Award at the prestigious
Sarasota Film Festival. Burton appeared in the 2007
Lifetime drama
Normal Adolescent Behavior which followed a group of friends who are in a six-way polyfidelitous relationship. That same year, Burton co-starred in the supernatural horror film
Solstice opposite
Amanda Seyfried and
Elisabeth Harnois. Burton also created her own production company, Southern Gothic Production (SoGoPro) in 2007, along with Nick Gray, Kelly Tenney, James Burton and Meg Mortimer. In 2008, Burton appeared in both the
Fox Searchlight Pictures drama
The Secret Life of Bees, as Deborah Owens, the deceased mother of
Dakota Fanning's character Lily and the limited release thriller
The List. Burton was next cast in the film
Bloodworth opposite
Hilary Duff and
Val Kilmer, an adaptation of the novel
Provinces of Night by
William Gay. The film premiered after her exit from
One Tree Hill at the 2010
Santa Barbara International Film Festival but made little money in limited release. Burton hada recurring arc in the
USA Network crime drama series
White Collar in 2010 as Sara Ellis, an insurance investigator in the second season. She was upgraded to a series regular in 2011 for the third season but switched back to the recurring cast in the fourth season. 2012 saw Burton guest-starring on the
ABC police comedy-drama
Castle in the season 4 episode "An Embarrassment of Bitches" as Kay Cappuccino, a reality television star who is accused of murder. Next came a recurring role in the ABC medical drama ''
Grey's Anatomy for the final three episodes of the 2013 ninth season as Dr. Lauren Boswell. That fall, Burton had a recurring role on the short-lived CBS drama Hostages. Burton reunited with One Tree Hill
co-star Tyler Hilton for a recurring role on CBS sci-fi drama Extant in 2015. Burton appeared as Karen Palmer, the DEA agent love interest of main character Martin Riggs (Clayne Crawford) on Lethal Weapon'' from the seventh episode of the first season in 2016 through the third episode of the second season in 2017. In November 2017, Burton spoke out in light of charges that
One Tree Hill creator
Mark Schwahn had sexually harassed some of the female crew, alleging that she had also been sexually assaulted by Schwahn. Burton guest-starred in the
tenth season of The Walking Dead as
Negan Smith's wife Lucille, appearing alongside her real-life husband
Jeffrey Dean Morgan who plays Negan. From 2021 to 2024, Burton was a co-host on the
Drama Queens podcast along with her
One Tree Hill co-stars, Sophia Bush and Bethany Joy Lenz. She left the podcast following the completion of reacting to the episodes of the show she starred in, leading her to
question what she brought [to the podcast]". She was succeeded as host by Robert Buckley, who starred in seasons 7-9 of One Tree Hill''.
Writing On May 5, 2020, Burton published her first non-fiction book
The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm. She published her memoir,
Grimoire Girl: A Memoir of Magic and Mischief, on April 25, 2023. ==Personal life==