Tunie made her Broadway debut alongside Lena Horne in ' in 1981. From 1987 to 1995, she starred in the CBS daytime soap operaAs the World Turns playing attorney Jessica Griffin. She reprised the role from 2000 to 2007 receiving two NAACP Image Awards nominations for Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2003 and 2004. Tunie also guest-starred in number of prime time dramas in 1990s, include Swift Justice', Law & Order, Chicago Hope, New York Undercover and Sex and the City. She also had a recurring role as Lillian Fancy in the ABC police drama NYPD Blue from 1994 to 1997. Tunie had supporting roles in a number of movies. She made her debut in Sweet Lorraine opposite Maureen Stapleton and later appeared in Wall Street. Tunie worked twice with Al Pacino; she portrayed his press secretary in the film City Hall and the possessed wife of a partner in his law firm in the film The Devil's Advocate. Her other credits include Bloodhounds of Broadway, Rising Sun, Eve's Bayou, The Peacemaker, and Snake Eyes. In 2001, she received a nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards for her role in film The Caveman's Valentine, based on George Dawes Green's eponymous novel, opposite Samuel L. Jackson. In 2000, Tunie joined the cast of NBC police procedural series ' as medical examiner Melinda Warner. She made her debut as Warner in the second season episode titled "Noncompliance", and continued to make recurring appearances until season seven, when she became a regular cast member. She also played this role in in episode "Day" in 2005, and Chicago Fire episode "We Called Her Jellybean" in 2015. Tunie was regular in SVU from season 7 to 12 and later made recurring appearances to season 17. She later appeared in episodes in 2018 and 2019, total in 223 credited episodes. In 2002, Tunie played Alberta Green in the first season of Fox thriller series 24. In 2010, she made her directing debut with romantic comedy film See You in September. In 2012, she returned to film, playing Margaret Thomason in the Robert Zemeckis-directed drama Flight starring Denzel Washington. From 2014 to 2015, she was regular cast member in the Sundance TV drama series The Red Road. Tunie won a Tony Award in 2007 for the production of the Broadway musicalSpring Awakening; she has also won a Drama Desk Award. In 2016, she won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance in Familiar, written by Danai Gurira. From 2016 to 2018, Tunie had a recurring role as Monica Graham in the CBS police drama series Blue Bloods. In 2018, she was regular cast member in two series, ABC comedy-drama Dietland, and BBC Two/Netflix co-produced drama Black Earth Rising there she played the role of Eunice Clayton, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. Her other television credits include The Good Wife, Survivor's Remorse, Better Call Saul and Almost Family. Tunie also played Gugu Mbatha-Raw's mother in the 2018 romantic comedy-drama film Irreplaceable You''.
Personal life
Tunie was married to Greg Bouquett from 1988 to 1991. From 1995 to 2018, she was married to jazz musician Gregory Generet. They separated in 2015.
