Elise's first movie was Set It Off (1996), in which she played one of four women who resort to robbing a bank for money. However, her first big break came in 1997 when she was cast in the Family Channel original television movie The Ditchdigger's Daughters, based on the Pulitzer-prize nominated and critically acclaimed 1995 memoir The Ditchdigger's Daughters: A Black Family's Astonishing Success Story, written by Yvonne S. Thornton and Jo Coudert. She received critical acclaim for her role in this film, and in 1997 she was recognized as Best Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries at the 19th annual CableACE Awards. A relative unknown at the time, she conveyed her anonymity upon receiving the award, famously stating "Who is Kimberly Elise?". Her performance aided her in landing a role the next year in Beloved, alongside Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover.

In 2004, she appeared in Woman Thou Art Loosed portraying Michelle, an abused young woman who finally got the help she need