A staple of the independent film scene and television industry since the early 1990s, actress Cara Buono was best used as an outwardly strong but emotionally brittle character on projects like "Kicking and Screaming" (1994), "Third Watch" (NBC, 1995-2005), "The Sopranos" (HBO, 1999-2007) and "Mad Men" (AMC, 2008-15). Buono began her career on stage as a pre-teen and worked her way into features and on television over the next decade; early notices for "Kicking" and "Man of the Century" (1999) made her a favorite of art house features, and supporting roles on "Third Watch" and "Sopranos" brought her to a mainstream audience. Though she worked steadily, Buono did not earn a breakthrough role until her tenure on "Mad Men" as a psychiatrist and research consultant whose intelligence proved no defense against lothario Don Draper, followed by another series regular role on the '80s-set thriller "Stranger Things" (Netflix 2016- ). High profile roles such as those proved that Buono's career was finally gathering enough steam to make the leap to greater prominence.