After completing her secondary education at St Catherine's School, Toorak in 1966[7] she attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney until graduating in 1968.

[8] In 1969, Hackforth-Jones made her first credited on-screen appearance in the Australian television series Riptide.

[9] She later appeared in such Australian television series as Bellbird, Butterfly Island, Homicide, Matlock Police, Division 4, Cop Shop, Tandarra, Cash and Company, Young Ramsay, Punishment, Bellamy, A Country Practice, Mother and Son, Tanamera – Lion of Singapore, Murder Call, All Saints, Chandon Pictures, :30 Seconds and The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

Sort in Alvin Purple (1973), the bridal shop manager in Muriel's Wedding (1994), Mrs Pike in Paradise Road (1997), Cynthia Dodds in Mao's Last Dancer (2009), and Mrs Johnson in The Tree (2010).

[4] She was featured in a long-running television advertisement series for Kellogg's Sultana Bran in the 1980s/90s.