She received her Actors' Equity card when cast by Vivian Matalon in a summer theatre production of Charley's Aunt, and joined SAG when Arthur Penn wrote a breakout role for her in the film Four Friends. On August 2, 1982, Headly married fellow ensemble member John Malkovich. Soon after, she replaced Ellen Barkin in Extremities off-Broadway. She then was cast in The Philanthropist, also off-Broadway, and won a Theatre World Award for best newcomer. In New York, she appeared in Balm in Gilead with her fellow Steppenwolf Theatre members, and in Arms and the Man, on Broadway, with Kevin Kline and Raul Julia. 1988–1995: Early work Headly played several supporting roles in such films as Making Mr. Right, Paperhouse, Seize the Day and Nadine, but her role in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), with Steve Martin and Michael Caine, truly launched her film career. In 1988, Headly was named Most Promising New Actress by the Chicago Film Critics Association. That same year, Headly divorced Malkovich after he had an affair with Michelle Pfeiffer during the filming of Dangerous Liaisons. In 1989, Headly played the role of Elmira Boot Johnson in the critically acclaimed TV miniseries Lonesome Dove, a part for which she received her first of two Emmy Awards nominations for best supporting actress in a television movie. Headly then was cast by Warren Beatty to appear as Tess Trueheart in Dick Tracy. She next starred with Demi Moore and Bruce Willis in Mortal Thoughts, directed by Alan Rudolph. In 1992, she worked on a small Canadian film called Ordinary Magic, and on the first day of filming, met her future husband Byron McCulloch, whom she married in 1993. She also co-starred with Ted Danson and Macaulay Culkin in the 1994 comedy Getting Even with Dad. 1995–2004 Headly appeared in Mr. Holland's Opus, Sgt. Bilko, What's the Worst That Could Happen?, Breakfast of Champions, Around the Bend, 2 Days in the Valley, and others. Headly appeared in the television movies Winchell, And the Band Played On, Pronto, My Own Country, and Women vs. Men. Headly received her second of two Emmy Awards nominations for best supporting actress in a television movie for Bastard Out of Carolina (1996). She appeared as Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer's daughter in the 2001 live telecast of the play On Golden Pond for CBS. She was cast in the series Encore! Encore!, starring Nathan Lane and