Rothery knew that she belonged in front of the camera when she played in the CBC Halloween special, Boo, at the age of 18. In her teens, being a talented Dancer, singer and musician, she was a performer on a North Vancouver-shot TV variety show starring Tom Jones. She is best known for her starring role of Dr. Janet Fraiser on Stargate SG-1, which she played from the show's beginning in 1997 through 2004 (and again as a guest appearance in 2006).
Rothery has been nominated for four Leo Awards. In 2004, she was nominated in two categories: Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for the Stargate SG-1 episode "Lifeboat", and Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series on The Collector. In 2008, she was nominated in the category: Best Performance by a Female in a Short Drama for her work in the short film Coffee Diva. In 2009, she was nominated in the category: Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for the episode "Sound of Loneliness" from The Guard.
Rothery was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She gave birth to a daughter, Londyn, on October 3, 2008.
In 2009, Rothery starred in the Canadian premiere of Good Boys and True, written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, and directed by Jeff Hyslop. The play ran at the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver.
Rothery has appeared in many other science fiction series, including The X-Files, The Outer Limits, First Wave, Stargate SG-1, Jeremiah, M.A.N.T.I.S., Kyle XY, Eureka, and many others. She played a small role in the Babylon 5 direct-to-DVD movie, Voices in the Dark, as ISN Reporter, Ms. Chambers. She played Lenore Molee in the 1994 television movie, For the Love of Nancy; and has also done voice acting work. In 2010, she was on the Battlestar Galactica prequel, Caprica, as Evelyn (the mother of Battlestar Galactica's Admiral william Adama). In 2011, she played Mrs. Turner (Timmy Turner's mom) in the Nickelodeon television movie A Fairly Odd Movie: Grow Up, Timmy Turner!. This was followed by A Fairly Odd Christmas on November 29, 2012. From 2013 to 2015, she was a regular cast member in the Hallmark Channel drama series Cedar Cove alongside Andie MacDowell.
Rothery has acted in theatre in her native Vancouver – appearing in Kiss Me, Kate and The Taming of the Shrew in March 2006. In March 2007, she appeared in A Delicate Balance, a play by Edward Albee, for which she was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award.
