She began her acting career as Mother in the 1977 Broadway revival of Hair; later taking on the role of Jeannie Ryan in the 1979 film version of the musical.
Other notable film credits include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Baby Boom (1987), Longtime Companion (1989), Strictly Business (1991), Prelude to a Kiss (1992), 12 Monkeys (1995), The American Astronaut (2001), It Runs in the Family (2003), Adventures of Power (2008), and I Love You Phillip Morris (2009).
She has appeared as a guest star on several television programs, including American Playhouse, Dear John, Father Dowling Mysteries, High Maintenance, Law & Order, and True Blue among others.
She appears in the musical film Temptation with actor Adam Pascal, Tony Award winners Alice Ripley and Anika Noni Rose, and film actress Zoe Saldana and in 2009 had a small role in I Love You Phillip Morris with actors Ewan McGregor and Jim Carrey, playing a simple woman requiring legal assistance.
In 2013, she began playing the role of the nearly mute Norma Romano in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black, for which she won a 2015 Screen Actors Guild Award (along with the rest of the ensemble cast).
She also played the role of Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme in Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's musical Assassins during its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons in New York City in 1990–1991, and is featured on the cast recording of it, on the RCA label.
[12] Golden has appeared in three separate versions of Hair: a Broadway revival in 1977, the motion picture in 1979 and a special benefit performance concert in 2004.
Golden starred with Peter Scolari in the world premiere of The Nutcracker and I from November 29 to December 31, 2011, at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey.
She starred in the Barrington Stage Company production of his Broadway Bounty Hunter,[15] with the book by Iconis, Lance Rubin and Jason "Sweettooth" Williams, directed by Julianne Boyd, which opened on August 13, 2016.
"[18] The Variety reviewer wrote: "Golden does woebegone really well....Surprisingly, however, the show underserves its star... except for a rousing, climactic paean to “the blood... back in my veins,” the material isn't there...
"[20] A concert version of Broadway Bounty Hunter, starring Golden, was presented at Joe's Pub in New York City on September 26, 2016.