After graduating from Emerson College in Boston, Abernathy moved to New York. She landed her first job after auditioning for a role with the Off Off Broadway production. Since then, Abernathy has played roles in many different movies and television series. In the historical drama Gods and Generals, she portrays a slave named Martha. Although the film itself was not critically well-received, Abernathy was praised for her part. One reviewer states that "Abernathy's image of Martha combines strength with glamour." She starred for four years as a Series Regular on Lifetime's Any Day Now. As a child of the South, Abernathy was heavily influenced by the civil rights movement. As a result, she was able to connect with the role on a personal level. Donzaleigh Abernathy claims she was filming a scene with Omar Epps in May 2016 for the USA show "Shooter" where his character was supposed to murder her character, when he "completely deviated from the script" and "threw his left forearm with full force at [her] right arm," and broke it. Abernathy is suing Epps, along with Paramount Pictures, for negligence and assault and battery. She's asking for damages for her pain and suffering and wants her medical costs -- present and Future -- covered.