Davidson is best known for her roles in soap operas as Kristen DiMera and Susan Banks on NBC's Days of Our Lives and Ashley Abbott on CBS's The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful.

[5] Davidson also starred in the film The House on Sorority Row (1983), had a leading role in the short-lived CBS crime series Broken Badges (1990–91), and wrote a number of mystery novels in the 2000s.

In 2014, Davidson joined the cast of Bravo reality television series The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, appearing full-time on the program until 2017.

[6] She attended Corona Del Mar High School in Newport Beach, California and Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

She quit the show in December 1988 and the producers took her recommendation of hiring a look-alike actress named Brenda Epperson, whom Davidson had discovered waiting tables at a charity function.

[9] She returned to daytime when she assumed the role of Kelly Capwell on Santa Barbara from November 1991 until the soap's cancelation in January 1993.

As originally conceived, Kristen was a heroine, who had an Achilles' heel in that the show's supervillain, Stefano, had raised her after the death of her parents.

[12] Ken Corday called Davidson about a week before she was fired from The Young and the Restless to get permission to use a picture of her on Days of Our Lives.

Davidson co-wrote her first novel with the author Robert J. Randisi, a mystery set in the soap opera world titled Death in Daytime, released in October 2008.

[19] On May 1, 2014, it was formally announced that Davidson was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series for Days of Our Lives.

[21] Subsequently, Davidson revealed that her Y&R contract was for two years and that it included a stipulation that she could continue doing Days of Our Lives in the future, as well as having the option of taking a break if work became too hectic.

[22] Davidson also joined the cast of the fifth season of Bravo reality television series, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Davidson stated in 2019 that she had been offered a role on All My Children earlier on in her career, but had turned it down as she could not afford to move to New York with her five dogs.

[27] Davidson starred in the 2019 comedy film 7 Days to Vegas directed by Eric Balfour released by Gravitas Ventures.