Chalke's acting career began at the age of 8 when she began appearing in musical theatre productions. At 16 she became a reporter on Canadian Children's show KidZone. In 1993 she took over the role of Becky in Roseanne from Lecy Goranson; she also made a non-Becky cameo appearance in the Roseanne episode "Halloween: The Final Chapter" (#178, originally aired 10/31/95). She returned briefly to Canada where she starred in the CBC television comedy Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy (1998-1999). In 2001, she was cast as Dr. Elliot Reid in the NBC comedy series Scrubs. She has appeared in several feature films, starting with Ernest Goes to School (1994), but has yet to take a leading role. She also appeared in Channel 101's The 'Bu with The Lonely Island, a parody of the hit The OC, but was credited as Pamela Fenton. In a February 2004 interview with Glamour, Chalke stated: “I don’t smoke, I try to eat right, and I love doing yoga and going for hikes with my dog.”