In a twist of fate, a casting person with Tender Mercies had to spend the night in Dallas and saw Harper's spot on TV.
Director Bruce Beresford was impressed with Harper and cast her in the lead female role of Rosa Lee, the young widow and mother who marries country singer Mac Sledge.
'"[4] Harper did not realize this, and recalled shortly after the film's release, "After I did the final screen test, I went to see Breaker Morant and started sobbing uncontrollably halfway through it.
[7] Harper appeared in the TV mini-series Chiefs (1983) and Celebrity (1984), as well as many television movies including Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land (1983) and Reckless Disregard (1985).
[8] In 1986, Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work as Chick Boyle in Crimes of the Heart,[3] which was directed by her Tender Mercies director Bruce Beresford.
From 1994 to 1995 Harper had a regular role on the CBS series Christy, playing mountain woman Fairlight Spencer.