Shor was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She has described herself as "half Jewish but not really religious" (her father was Jewish). Her parents divorced when she was 7, and she moved back and forth between Turin, Italy (to live with her mother), and suburban Detroit (her father"s residence).
She later attended the University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in drama.
She is best known for her performance in the rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch and in the 2001 film adaptation of the same name. She later starred in a number of short-lived television series, including Swingtown (2008) and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (2012). Shor is starring in the television Land comedy series, Younger.
Shor played Madelaine True in Encores! production of The Wild Party at the New York City Center from July 15–18, 2015 alongside Younger co-star, Sutton Foster.
She speaks fluent Yiddish as well as Italian. Shor moved to New York City and began appearing onstage, notably in Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
In 2000 she starred in the short-lived American Broadcasting Company sitcom Then Came You. She accepted supporting roles in the Harold Ramis comedy remake Bedazzled (2000) and the 2001 cinematization of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, reprising her role of Yitzhak.
During the 2001-2002 television season, she starred in a short-lived comedy series, called Inside Schwartz, opposite Breckin Meyer and Maggie Lawson, on National Broadcasting Company. Shor later starred in the number of independent films, and guest-starred on episodes of My Name Is Earl and The West Wing.
In 2006, she made cameo appearance in Shortbus, directed by her Hedwig and the Angry Inch co-star, John Cameron Mitchell. In 2006, Shor starred in the American Broadcasting Company television comedy series Big Day opposite Marla Sokoloff and Wendie Malick. This series also was canceled after one season.
In 2007, Shor lent a supporting role to Mary Stuart Masterson"s directorial debut, the slice-of-life drama The Cake Eaters.
The following year, she was cast in the 1970s-set prime-time Columbia Broadcasting System drama series Swingtown as Janet Thompson. The show was canceled due to a mixed reception and low ratings.
Shor had a recurring role on Forex legal drama Damages as Carrie Parsons, and appeared on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Bored to Death, and Royal Pains. In 2011 she played role of Anna on the Home Box Office"s mini-series adaptation of Mildred Pierce.
In 2012, Shor starred as Cricket Caruth-Reilly in American Broadcasting Company comedy-drama series Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, along with Leslie Bibb, Kristin Chenoweth, Annie Potts, Jennifer Aspen and Marisol Nichols.
Series was canceled after one season. Later in 2012 Shor was cast in a recurring role as dogged reporter Mandy Post of season four on The Good Wife. In 2014, Shor was cast as a series regular in the television Land single-camera comedy pilot Younger, produced by Darren Star, and starring Sutton Foster.
The network ordered the show on April 14, 2014, and season one premiered on March 31, 2015.
On April 21, 2015, television Land announced that Younger had been renewed for a second season of 12 episodes, same as the first season. The second season is set to premier on January 13, 2016.
In 2015, Shor played Madelaine True, alongside her Younger co-star, Sutton Foster, in The Wild Party at the New York City Center from July 15–18.
