She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. She gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en (1995), Emma (1996), in which she played the title role, and Sliding Doors (1998). She got worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Since then, she has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Shallow Hal (2001) and Proof (2005). In 2008, she appeared in the highest grossing movie of her career, the superhero film Iron Man, and then reprised her role as Pepper Potts in its sequel, Iron Man 2 (2010).