Goodall was the physician wife of the skipper of a floating school in "White Squall" (1996) before playing the battered wife of a prominent police officer who has an affair with a charming, but psychotic man (Mark Harmon) from her cooking class in the psychological thriller, “Casualties” (1997). After appearing in the romantic dramedy, “The Secret Laughter of Women” (1998), and an episode of the British mystery series, “Murder in Mind” (BBC, 2001-2003), Goodall had a minor part in “Harrison’s Flowers” (2002), a drama set in war-torn Yugoslavia about the wife (Andie MacDowell) of a photojournalist (David Strathairn) who goes on a quest to find him after he’s reported dead. She was then the eccentric and fun-loving artist mom of a young girl (Anne Hathaway) who suddenly discovers she’s the sole heir to the throne of Genovia in the wildly successful family comedy, “The Princess Diaries” (2001). A supporting role as the lesbian assistant and ex-wife of an Irish cable talk show host (Brian F. O’Byrne) in the romantic comedy “Easy” (2003) was followed by her return for the sequel, “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement” (2004).
In “Chasing Liberty” (2004), Goodall was the First Lady of the United States who, along with her good-intentioned president husband (Mark Harmon), wants nothing more than the best for her one and only child (Mandy Moore)—even if it means nonstop protection from the Secret Service. Goodall then joined a strong cast, which included Ralph Fiennes, Carrie-Anne Moss and Glenn Close, for “The Chumscrubber” (2005), a black comedy about Dean (Jaime Bell), an emotionally vacant teenager whose only friend (Josh Janowicz) commits suicide, leaving him to face a trio of bullies (Justin Chatwin, Lou Taylor Pucci and Camilla Belle) demanding the dead friend’s stash of drugs. When the request is denied, the gang’s attempt to kidnap Dean’s little brother results in nabbing the wrong kid, leaving Dean to rescue a boy he neither knows nor cares about.