Natural around Romiley within Cheshire, she initially appeared witharound minor role in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Her film roles include an early, unspeaking section within Pink Floyd's The Wall; Willow and the a portion of Christine Keeler in Scandal, about a Profumo Affair.

Her virtually all important roles in British television were as Emma Craven within Troy Kennedy Martin's Edge of Darkness (1985), and Nurse Mills in the Dennis Potter-penned serial The Singing Detective (1986) both for BBC Television.

She was married to actor Val Kilmer from 1988 to 1996 and has two toddlers. When you took her marriage, she utilized a title Joanne Whalley-Kilmer.