[6][7] Smith graduated from the Neighborhood Playhouse in the spring of 1951, and then spent the next several months performing on stage as Miss Tripp in a touring company's production of The Silver Whistle.

The play, starring Henry Fonda and Frances Bavier, opened at the Alvin Theatre in December 1951 and closed the following November after a successful run of 356 performances.

A Neighborhood Playhouse alumna [9] and a life member of The Actors Studio,[10] Smith appeared in two films in 1957, The Bachelor Party with Don Murray and The Spirit of St. Louis with James Stewart.

Her other roles included, The Fugitive episode "Goodbye my Love" in 1967 and was the focus of the second Hawaii Five-O show of the first season (1968), "Full Fathom Five", playing detective Joyce Weber.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, in the episode "Unnatural Selection", she plays the role of Sara Kingsley, a healthy young doctor in her mid 30s who quickly deteriorates physically and mentally due to being afflicted by accelerated aging.