[1][2] Crowden started her acting career in 1974 when she joined The Actors' Company as a Student Assistant Stage Manager.
One of her first notable role was as Helen in the movie adaption of Agatha Christie's The Seven Dials Mystery (1981).
[3] She has played supporting roles in numerous television series and movies such as A Dance to the Music of Time, The Sarah Jane Adventures, Downtown Abbey and The Sister Boniface Mysteries.
She received favourable reviews for her portrayal of Dame Hilda in the 2010 production of If So, Then Yes by N. F. Simpson with critic Michael Billington calling her performance as "a Thatcherite supervisor" shining and Dominic Maxwell of The Times praising her ability to "work wonders in restricted circumstances".
[4][5] In 2017, Crowden started performing stand-up comedy on the London circuit as her self-created character Dame Theresa Thomson's-Gazelle.