Sarah moved to Vancouver B.C. at an early age. She appeared in local Vancouver theater productions when she was eight. She made her debut in acting, in a made-for-television-movie
City Boy (1992). In 1993, after her first film she auditioned for the role of Becky on the TV series
Roseanne (1988). The show was looking for a replacement after
Lecy Goranson quit the show to go to college.
Sarah appeared in several feature films, starting with
Ernest Goes to School in 1994. Sarah graduated from high school in 1995, while shooting the 1994-1995 season of
Roseanne. When she was a few credits short of a college degree, she decided to commit to acting full time.
She has since become a star of the hit comedy show
Scrubs playing Dr. Elliot Reid from its pilot broadcast in October 2001.