Rice first traveled to California in 1996 to attend a modeling convention and landed her first entertainment job working behind the scenes at the Judge Judy show. Her first feature film was the independent The Doe Boy (2001), which garnered several international film festival awards. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Janet Pete in the films Skinwalkers (2002), Dreamkeeper (2003), Coyote Waits (2003), and A Thief of Time (2004), based on the Tony Hillerman novels by the same names. She has appeared in other films including Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West, On The Corner, A Thousand Roads, the IMAX release of Sacagawea, Johnny Tootall and The New World. She has also acted in various television series, including Spin City, CSI, Strong Medicine and The Sopranos.