[2] Curtin began her writing career in the 1970s working on episodes of the television sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show.
Curtin and her then-husband Barry Levinson were nominated for an Academy Award (in the category of Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) for ...And Justice for All (1979) starring Al Pacino.
During the 1970s, she made various guest appearances on television in shows such as Happy Days; Welcome Back, Kotter; Rhoda; The Rockford Files; and Barney Miller.
In March 1976, ABC shot the pilot episode for Three's Company, in which Curtin appeared alongside John Ritter and Susanne Zenor.
Curtin was dropped from the show after two seasons, when James Komack came on as the new executive producer, replacing the team led by Jane Fonda.