Singled out as an up-and-comer in Entertainment Weekly's 2003 It List issue, Robin Tunney has been building an award-winning career that has alternated big-budget studio fare with roles in independently-produced films that showcase her range.

Tunney's recent pictures have included a critically praised star turn in Cherish, opposite Jason Priestly, as well as the actioner Vertical Limit, co-starring Chris O'Donnell. In 1999, Tunney starred with Arnold Schwartzeneger and Gabriel Byrne in the apocalyptic thriller End of Days.

The Secret Lives of Dentists is the second time Tunney has worked with director Alan Rudolph, having starred opposite Nick Nolte and Neve Campbell in Investigating Sex.

Tunney's breakout role was that of Marcy, a young woman with Tourette Syndrome in Bob Gosse's critically acclaimed Niagara, Niagara. Her performance, called an uncompromising tour de force by The New York Times, earned her the award for Best Actress-Cuppa Volpe at the Venice Film Festival, as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead.

Among other credits are Encino Man, opposite Brenda Fraser, and Julian Po, opposite Christian Slater. For television, Tunney starred in the mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth, opposite Patrick Dempsey, and Riders of the Purple Sage, opposite Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. She also co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick and Stanley Tucci in Montana.

This coming Memorial Day will see Tunney in the comedy The Wedding Party, co-starring with Albert Brooks, Michael Douglas, Candice Bergen and David Suchet. The film is directed by Andrew Fleming, who earlier cast Tunney in the box-office teen hit, The Craft. That film won the young actress an MTV Movie Award, shared with co-star Fairuza Balk.

A native of Chicago, Tunney studied at that city's Academy for the Performing Arts.