Sedgwick has worked steadily as film and theater actress without ever reaching major stardom. She gained critical notices for her performance in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989, with Tom Cruise) and had a lead in the popular romantic comedy Singles (1992). She has also appeared in Phenomenon (1996, with John Travolta), Secondhand Lions (2003, with Michael Caine) and The Woodsman (2004, with Eve). In 2005 she had her first lead role in a television series, The Closer (also featuring Anthony Denison, credited as John Denison).

She married actor Kevin Bacon in 1988... Sedgwick is a cousin of Edie Sedgwick, who appeared in the experimental films of artist Andy