She won her breakout role and best-known role to date in 1998, portraying Hayley Smith Lawson on "Home and Away". Cartwright became a series fan favourite and earned herself numerous Logie Award nominations until 2005. In the same year, Cartwright earned a Most Popular Actress win. She coincidentally fell pregnant within months of her 'Home and Away' character, and then left the series to become a full-time mother. For a short period of time, Ella Scott Lynch replaced her as Hayley before shortly departing the series.