Kimberly Elise starred alongside Denzel Washington in the drama John Q, in which she was nominated for a NAACP Image Award. She also starred in The Manchurian Candidate, starring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. Elise's other film credits include Bait, Beloved where she won a Golden Satellite Award and CFCA Award and was nominated for a Cable Ace Award and NAACP Image Award, and Set It Off in which she made her feature film debut opposite Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Vivica A. Fox, Woman Thou Art Loosed, and Diary of a Mad Black Woman.

In television, Elise has had recurring roles on the UPN-TV sitcom Girlfriends and Showtime Network drama Soul Food. Elise also starred in CBS's Close to Home alongside Jennifer Finnigan. Her other television credits include the Showtime Special Bojangles where she starred opposite the late Gregory Hines and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award, the ABC-TV movie of the week The Loretta Claiborne Story, and The Ditchdigger's Daughter, for which she won a Cable Ace Award.