Cowden had a small guest role as
Melanie Pearson in the soap opera
Neighbours in 1987. She went on to play Danielle Edmonds in the short-lived 1989 soap
The Power, The Passion. Two years after her guest appearance, Cowden was asked to return to
Neighbours and was signed up for an initial six-month stint. Cowden left
Neighbours in 1991, and later admitted that she did not want to be
typecast. After leaving
Neighbours, Cowden went to the United Kingdom in 1993, where she did various acting jobs, presenting and stand-up comedy. She appeared as Aladdin at the
Marlowe Theatre in
Canterbury. She also embarked on a 12-week tour of the UK as Peter Pan. This was followed by a presenting role on the soap opera themed television show
Soap Fever in 2000. In April 2000, Cowden starred in a production of
Tony McNamara's black comedy play
The John Wayne Principle at the
Pleasance Theatre. Cowden returned to
Neighbours in 2020. Cowden also reprised the role again in 2023 after the series was picked up by Amazon Freevee. On 29 October 2024, Cowden confirmed her exit from the show, Cowden said that she knew of her character's departure in December just days after co-star
Ryan Moloney found out about his contract ending, Moloney had announced his exit from the show in June 2024. Cowden also confirmed the decision to leave the show was not hers as the contracts for cast came up all at once. Cowden revealed that when she was filming her final scene she had broken her nose after falling on set. ==Personal life==