In New York she realized her passion for acting and decided to pursue her dream career. Her career in acting truly began when she was offered an opportunity by MTV (the same channel which she was prohibited watching as a child) to work as a VJ for the Total Request Live, a popular music show which featured music on demand and had a wide audience. She was appointed as a temporary commentator but fortunately earned herself a permanent job. This marked a hike in her career, keeping her on screen through, “MTV Video Music Awards” and “MTV's Iced Out New Year's Eve”. Her television debut as an actress was made in an episode of “Dawson’s Creek” where she played a guest-character of a VJ girl. In 2003 a television hit series “One Tree Hill” presented her in the role of ‘Peyton Sawyer’, a talented artist seeking love with a heavily guarded heart. She portrayed it so beautifully that it turned out to be her claim to fame in Hollywood and fetched her multiple roles in films. “Our Very Own” was her debut in the film world. She starred opposite Allison Janney and Cheryl Hines in the story of five teenagers aspiring for a better life. The film acclaimed much praise and award.

Next year saw further rise in her film career with the release of two films. “Normal Adolescent Behaviour” featuring the story of a group of friends in a six-way polyfidelitous relationship; she was one of them, named Ryan. The other one was a supernatural horror flick, “Solstice”. Burton’s film career had caught up momentum and it continued up-till the year 2010 with several super hits like; “the list”, “the secret life of bees”, “the true love tale of boyfriend and girlfriend” and “blood worth”. In 2012 Burton guest-starred in a police comedy-drama “Castle” season 4, episode 13, as Kay Cappuccio, a reality TV star accused of the murder of a famous dog-trainer. She was also offered recurring roles in numerous popular TV series such as Grey Anatomy, where she was casted as Dr. Lauren Boswell. She also got roles in CBS dramas “Hostages” as Samantha and in “Extant” as Anna Schaefer. She discovered her first husband through her acting career. She married the ‘One Tree Hill’ assistant director Ian Prange, son of executive producer Greg Prange, but divorced him in 2009. She later married actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan and had a baby son with him, Augustus. Hilarie has now 23.2 thousand followers on Instagram. She has an estimated net worth of 185 million USD. She has obviously turned out to be a smart investor and businesswomen apart from an actress. She has a medium height; 5 feet and 7.5 inches. Her name is also listed in the IMDB.