In the 1980s, McDonald worked as a ballet and modern dancer and owned a dance studio in Venice, California, called Room to Move.
[1] Due to a knee injury while shooting a television commercial, she was forced to end her dance career early,[2] but she still had a desire to work in entertainment.
In 1985, after taking a three-week entertainment business course, she took a position as an agent at Joseph, Heldfond & Rix (JHR) agency.
[1] She took her entire client roster of choreographers with her including Darrin Henson, Nadine "Hi Hat" Ruffin, Kenny Ortega, Marguerite Derricks, Travis Payne, Jerry Mitchell, and Wade Robson.
[7][15] In 2013, she was an honoree at Tremaine Dance Convention's National Gala[16] and she won another Lifetime Achievement Award, from The Industry Voice, for her work with Dancers' Alliance.