Early work

After graduating from high school, Moynahan pursued a modeling career despite admitting she had never read fashion magazines growing up.^[7] She had accompanied a friend to a modeling audition in Springfield, Massachusetts,^[4] and was signed by the modeling agency instead of her friend.^[7] She began her career appearing in department-store catalogs in Springfield, during which time she attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Moynahan moved to New York City at age 18, and a year later, began appearing in magazines such as Vogue and Elle, and on covers of other widely known magazines.^[8] Her cover highlights include Vogue Paris (May 1993), Elle (October 1993), and Glamour (six times).^[9] Discussing her early work in an interview given in July 2004, Moynahan said, "It was a crazy world that paid a lot of money. I liked being a model, but I knew it would never last, so I looked into acting."^[3]

During that time, she began doing soap and shampoo commercials,^[10] in addition to taking acting and art classes. She studied acting at the Caymichael Patten Studio in New York,^[8] and in 1999, made her TV debut as Natasha in HBO's romantic comedy Sex and the City.^[11] She later had a recurring role in the show, until the divorce of her character from Mr. Big (Chris Noth).^[12] The following year, she appeared in smaller film roles, including having parts in In the Weeds and Whipped.^[8]

Breakthrough

Moynahan made her feature-film debut in the 2000 comedy-drama Coyote Ugly as Rachel, a bartender and dancer in a wild New York bar,^[13] a role considered her breakthrough.^[14] She accepted the role because she "thought it was interesting that the whole movie revolved around five women…and my character was so strong and independent."^[11] The film received generally unfavorable reviews,^[15] but was a box-office success, earning $133 million worldwide.^[16] Her next role was a supporting role in 2001 film Serendipity as Hally, the fiancée of John Cusack's character.^[17]

Moynahan began studying acting under Iris Klein, focusing on scene study and technique . Moynahan worked opposite Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman in the action film The Sum of All Fears, based on Tom Clancy's book of the same name.^[18] She played Dr. Catherine Muller, a love interest for Affleck's Jack Ryan.^[19] Dave Larsen of the Dayton Daily News reported the subplot involving Moynahan and Affleck was "the film's weakest point".^[20] The film received ambivalent reviews,^[21] but was a commercial success, earning $193 million at the box office.^[22] Moynahan's next role was as a CIA trainee in The Recruit (2003).^[23] The movie was poorly received,^[24] with Mike Clark of USA Today calling it "a less-than-middling melodrama whose subject matter and talent never click as much as its credits portend".^[25]

In 2004, Moynahan worked alongside Will Smith in Alex Proyas' science-fiction movie I, Robot, loosely based on Isaac Asimov's short-story collection of the same name.^[26] She portrayed Dr. Susan Calvin, a specialist in robot psychology.^[27] The film received mixed reviews,^[28] though critics enjoyed Moynahan's performance. Daniel Neman of Richmond Times-Dispatch disliked the film, concluding that Moynahan "turns in an able performance as Dr. Calvin, the convenient character."^[29] With revenue of $347 million worldwide, the film remains Moynahan's most commercially successful picture to date.^[30] Her next movie was 2005's Lord of War, a political crime thriller, where she played Ava Fontaine Orlov, the wife of Nicolas Cage's character.^[31] In 2006, Maxim named Moynahan #96 on its annual "Hot 100" list.^[32]

In September 2006, away from film, Moynahan worked as Whitney Crane in the ABC television drama series Six Degrees co-starring with Jay Hernandez, Erika Christensen, Hope Davis, Dorian Missick, and Campbell Scott.^[33] The series centered on six residents of New York City and their relationships and connections with one another, based on the idea of six degrees of separation.^[34] It debuted on September 20, 2006, and was watched by almost 13.3 million viewers.^[35] It debuted to varied reception,^[36] with David Hinckley of the New York Daily News writing, "In theory, it's an intriguing concept for a series. But in practice, Six Degrees doesn't work at all in drawing you in at the start."^[36] After one season, it was cancelled in May 2007.^[37]

Moynahan's next film role was in the November 2006 thriller Unknown, about a group of individuals kidnapped and trying to escape their captors together.^[38] She was next seen in 2007, in Gray Matters, working with Heather Graham and Tom Cavanagh,^[39] before being cast in Henry Bean's comedy-drama Noise as Helen Owen, the wife of David Owen (Tim Robbins).^[40] The movie was screened at a special presentation at the 2007 Rome Film Festival^[41] and released in theaters in 2008.^[42]

In December 2008, Moynahan guest-starred in two episodes of the ABC television comedy-drama Eli Stone as the titular character's (Jonny Lee Miller) ex-girlfriend.^[43] Returning to film, she appeared in Ramona and Beezus, as the mother to Joey King and Selena Gomez's characters.^[44] The film was directed by Elizabeth Allen and released in July 2010. The next year, Moynahan worked with Aaron Eckhart, Michelle Rodriguez and Michael Peña in the action science-fiction feature Battle: Los Angeles (2011),^[45] and starred in the CBS television show Blue Bloods, playing Assistant District Attorney Erin Reagan^[46] together with Donnie Wahlberg, who had encouraged her to take the role after working with her on a 2008 TV pilot called Bunker Hill.^[47]

In November 2009, she signed a deal with Garnier to appear in television and print advertising promoting their Ultra-Lift skincare products.^[48]

In 2014, Moynahan appeared as the late wife of the title character in the action film John Wick,^[49] and appearing in the 2017 sequel. Most recently, in 2019, she starred in the action film Crown Vic.

Film

Television