Newman began her comdey career as a member of The Groundlings and is most well known for being an original cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live.
Since she left the show in 1980, she has appeared in numerous television shows and movies including; Laverne & Shirley, St. Elsewhere, Amazing Stories, Friends, The Tick, 3rd Rock from the Sun, The Flintstones Movie, As Told By Ginger, Rugrats, All Grown Up and Monsters, Inc.
In 1993, Newman appeared in the Coneheads, a full length motion picture based on the SNL sketch of the same name. On SNL, she played The Coneheads daughter Connie. In the movie, she appeared as "Laarta Conehead", an adult relative who, unfortunately, only makes a brief appearance in the film.