In 1983, Ford landed her first television role on ABC's "One Life to Live"; her first major role was on the NBC soap opera "Another World", where she played Julia Shearer (a role previously played by Kyra Sedgwick) for several years. Ford was let go by the producers and soon moved to Hollywood, where she got a regular role on the short-lived sitcom "The Popcorn Kid", had a five-episode appearance on "thirtysomething", played a homeless woman on Family Ties, and, later, had her role on "Murphy Brown". After a 10-year run, the "Murphy Brown" series ended, and Ford immediately pursued other TV endeavors. In 1998, she executive-produced her own short-lived sitcom, "Maggie Winters". Ford also appeared on "The Norm Show" with Norm Macdonald, Laurie Metcalf, and Artie Lange from 1999 to 2001.