From 1727 as Frances Shireburn she appeared at the Drury Lane Theatre.
During her early years she established herself in a number of roles that she played repeatedly throughout her career including in Lady Darling in The Constant Couple, Mademoiselle D'Epingle in The Funeral, Mademoiselle in The Provoked Wife and Regan in King Lear, Lady Bountiful in The Beaux' Stratagem and Mrs Motherly in The Provoked Husband.
[2] She was widowed in 1760, and had a son also named Richard Cross who appeared alongside her at Drury Lane.
Apart from during the Actor Rebellion of 1733 when she briefly moved to the Haymarket Theatre and two seasons at Covent Garden from 1739 and 1741, she spent the remainder of her career as an established part of the Drury Lane company.
[3] Cross died on 29 June 1781 in Hart Street, Bloomsbury.