The South Carolina born brunette first garnered national attention on the stage with her Tony Award nominated performance in the hit Prelude to a Kiss. Her stage success paved the way to several high profile film roles in movies such as Grand Canyon starring Steve Martin, Fried Green Tomatoes starring Mary Stuart Masterson and Bullets Over Broadway directed by Woody Allen. Her award winning work soidified her status as one of the most popular and respected leading ladies in Hollywood.

She returned to the stage in 2001, and won a Tony Award for her starring role in the smash hit Proof. Ironically when the time came for the film version, she lost the role to bigger box office draw, Gwyneth Paltrow.

But the awards kept coming for the hard working actress, this time for her work on the HBO television mini-series Angels in America where she received the Golden Globe and Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress in a Mini-series.

In 2005, the hit Showtime television series Weeds premiered, turning Parker into a household name, while also establishing her as a critical, as well as a bankable star for many years to come.