Tony Award-winner Judith Light made her stage debut not long after graduating from the prestigious drama school at Carnegie Mellon University, appearing in Richard III at the California Shakespeare Festival in 1969. She then worked with the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre before making her Broadway debut in 1974 with a role in A Doll's House.

Despite her early success in the theater, Light nearly quit acting before landing her big break: Karen Wolek on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. Light went on to win two Daytime Emmy Awards for the part, in 1980 and 1981, as well as two Soapy Awards and a Soap Opera Hall of Fame Award. She soon made the jump to primetime with a leading role on Who's the Boss opposite Tony Danza from 1984 - 1992.

In 2002, she began a recurring role on Law and Order, appearing in 25 episodes between that year and 2010. In 2006, she joined the cast of Ugly Betty, garnering an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She was promoted to series regular for the second season, and stayed with the show until it ended in 2010. Most recently, Light has appeared in a regular role in the critically acclaimed Amazon original series Transparent. She received a Critics' Choice nomination for the part in 2014.

Light has also remained active in theater. In 2012 and 2013, she won back-to-back Tony Awards for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play, first for Other Desert Cities and then for The Assembled Parties. She also won the 2012 and 2013 Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for those same roles. In 2015, Light was cast in a Broadway production of Therese Raquin alongside Keira Knightley.