Brammell was born in Kentucky and raised in San Antonio, Texas, where she graduated from Churchill High School in 1997. She graduated from the Carnegie Mellon University drama school in 2001. On May 27, 2006 she married screen actor Jake LaBotz, the two divorced in early 2008.

Brammell has had recurring roles on Six Feet Under, The Shield, Push, Nevada, and Star Trek: Enterprise. More recently, she was seen in The Unit as 'Tiffy Gerhardt', a housewife who was having an affair with her husband's commanding officer when her husband was on assignment and at one time was physically abused. She later almost had an affair with a lawyer she was doing community service for which would go into affecting her decision to leave during the show's 2nd season finale. She will also be in an episode of NCIS in season 8.

Brammell received good reviews for her performance in North American premier of Christopher Hampton's play, "The Talking Cure," at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In addition, she recently guest starred on Medium, The Mentalist, Lie to Me, and Castle.