She began her career appearing in off-Broadway productions, before playing supporting roles on television and film.

Richardson has appeared in films including Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), When a Man Loves a Woman (1994), Losing Isaiah (1995), Lone Star (1996), U.S.

She has appeared in four films with her husband, Samuel L. Jackson: Juice (1992), Losing Isaiah (1995), Freedomland (2006), and Mother and Child (2009).

[6] From 2017 to 2023, Richardson made regular appearances as Maggie Pierce’s adoptive mother, Diane, on Grey's Anatomy.

[7][8] In September 2022, Richardson made her directorial debut directing the Broadway revival of August Wilson's play The Piano Lesson at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.