Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1986 on the "semi-promise" of a part in a TV film. After the audition, the role was given to another actress. Smith realized "that people don't mean what they say. It's not malicious. They just don't realize how much impact they have on an impressionable actor – and all actors are impressionable." From then on, she decided to "just sort of build a wall around myself", to cope with the disappointment of not getting a part. In Los Angeles, Smith appeared in theatrical productions of "Living on Salvation Street", for which she was paid $14 for each performance, "Boys and Girls/Men and Women", and "How the Other Half Loves", and played the recurring role of Louella Waters on the Showtime series "Brothers". She appeared in the films "The Legend of Billie Jean" and "Ginger Ale Afternoon" (1989) as "trailer-park girls". She later spoke of her regrets of appearing in the latter in her one-woman show "More".