After graduating from Cornell with a Master of Fine Arts degree, Hicks headed to New York in August 1976, and two weeks later she landed her first major TV role as newly-recovered pediatrician Dr.
Faith Coleridge on the ABC soap opera ''
Ryan's Hope. A year and half later she left her role on Ryan's Hope'' when she was cast to star alongside
Jack Lemmon (as Scottie) in
Bernard Slade's 1978 Broadway play
Tribute, in which she played the young model Sally Haines, whom Scottie sets up with his estranged son (
Robert Picardo). That same year, she starred as Valerie in a CBS TV movie/series pilot,
Sparrow. After
Tribute ended its run, she moved to California and co-starred on the 1979–80 CBS sitcom,
The Bad News Bears as junior high school principal and psychologist Dr. Emily Rappant. She had roles in a few TV movies, playing an escort, Annie, in ABC's
Love For Rent (1979), and as Beth, a camp counselor in CBS's 1980 film
To Race the Wind, based on the Harold Krents' autobiography. In 1980, Hicks beat out hundreds of actresses for the lead role of
Marilyn Monroe in ABC's $3.5 million production,
Marilyn: The Untold Story, based on the
Norman Mailer best seller. She earned an
Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for her portrayal of the legendary star. In 1981, Hicks starred in
CBS's remake of
Jacqueline Susann's
Valley of the Dolls, as Anne Wells, an entertainment lawyer, and James Coburn's protege. She turned down a co-starring role in
Body Heat due to the overtly sexual nature of the film. She made her feature-film debut in the thriller
Death Valley (1982) as
Peter Billingsley's mother, Sally. That same year, she starred as Sable in
Better Late Than Never. Hicks took the lead role as Amanda Tucker in the 12-episode detective series ''
Tucker's Witch'' opposite
Tim Matheson as Rick Tucker. The program aired on CBS from October 6, 1982, sporadically into August, 1983. In 1983, she played Lisa Sage and co-starred with
John Schneider and Catherine's former Ryan's Hope co-star, Ana Alicia, in CBS's romantic comedy movie
Happy Endings. Hicks appeared with
Anne Bancroft and
Ron Silver in
Sidney Lumet's film
Garbo Talks (1984). Hicks also played
Bill Murray's socialite fiancée, Isabel, in the remake ''
The Razor's Edge (1984). For her work in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home'' (1986), Hicks received a
Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she played Carol Heath in
Francis Ford Coppola's
Peggy Sue Got Married. In
Like Father Like Son (1987), Hicks played Dr. Amy Larkin. In March 1987, Hicks hosted the 59th
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences'
Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony. In 1988, she played businesswoman Ella Frazier in the
Yugoslavian comedy
Tajna manastirske rakije (also released under the titles
Cognac and
Secret Ingredient). She co-starred with
Christopher Plummer, as his estranged daughter, Tina Boyer, in
Showtime's
Souvenir (1989). She played Karen Barclay in the horror film ''
Child's Play'' (1988). Her performance won her a 1988 Best Actress
Saturn Award. In 1989, she starred opposite
Tony Danza in ''
She's Out of Control as his girlfriend, Janet Pearson. In 1991, she co-starred in the Fox TV comedy-fantasy movie Hi Honey - I'm Dead as Carol Stadler. She played Allison Ploutzer in the Jeff Franklin ABC comedy pilot Up to No Good
(1992). She starred with John Bedford Lloyd in the ABC comedy pilot The Circle Game
(1993) as the mother, schoolteacher Nancy. She played Jeannie Barker in the Aaron Spelling primetime soap opera Winnetka Road, which had a six-episode tryout on NBC in 1994. That same year, she played the wife in the pilot for The Martin Short Show
. Going into production, after the concept of the character was changed, she was replaced by Jan Hooks. She played Julia Riordan, opposite John Lithgow and Lea Salonga, in the ABC Hallmark Hall of Fame movie Redwood Curtain'' (1995). In 1996, she was cast as Annie Camden on
The WB's family drama
7th Heaven, and she portrayed the role until the series ended, after 11 seasons, in 2007. In 1997, Hicks played flight attendant Maggie in
Turbulence. The same year, Hicks played next door neighbor, Ms. Lewis, in Michael Davis' coming-of-age film,
Eight Days a Week. In 2001, she was one of the actors featured in renowned Hollywood photographer Nancy Ellison's book,
Starlet: First Stage at the Hollywood Dream Factory. The book was a collection of archival material of shooting starlets and contained pictures of Hicks that Ellison had taken in the 1980s. In 2008, she starred in
Lifetime Movie Network's
Poison Ivy: The Secret Society as Dean Elisabeth Graves. In another Lifetime film
Stranger with My Face (2009), she played the widowed mother Shelley Stratton. She played Mom in the independent short film ''You're a Wolf'' (2009), co-starring
Michael Gross and
Jesse Bradford. In 2009, she again played a therapist, Dr. Rosen, in the WB's online series,
Pushed. Hicks was featured in
My Name Is Jerry, an independent film shot mostly in
Muncie, Indiana. Hicks won the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role from the 2009 International Filmmakers Festival for her portrayal as Dana. In 2010, Hicks received positive reviews for her role as Hildegarde, in playwright
Christopher Durang's
Why Torture Is Wrong and the People Who Love Them at the
Stella Adler Theater in Hollywood. She was
Texas family court Judge Harriet Krammer in the Hallmark Channel movie ''A Valentine's Date
(2011), (which was also released under the video title Your Love Never Fails
). She played Jean in the Lifetime movie Borderline Murder
(2011). Hicks played bartender, Rose, who attracted the attention of Elliott Gould in the film Dorfman in Love
(2011). Hicks co-starred as Anna Walker in the 2011 Walmart and Procter & Gamble Family Movie Night drama on NBC called Game Time: Tackling the Past
. She joined actors Noah Wyle, Virginia Madsen, Mike Farrell, and others in a September 2011 reading of Windows on the World'', by Colette Keen, at Hollywood's Stella Adler Theatre, commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. In November 2011, she starred as Irene Livingston in the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada's Las Vegas production of the Moss Hart play
Light Up the Sky. Hicks played Ellen in the 2011
Hallmark Channel movie
A Christmas Wedding Tail. In May 2012, Hicks played Annette Bramble in the Lifetime Network movie
Shadow of Fear. Also in May 2012, and into June, she performed in the play
Princess, in the Blank Theatre Company's 20th Annual Young Playwrights Festival at the Stella Adler Theatre. In December 2012, she played
Marla Sokoloff's character's mother in the
Ion Television original movie,
A Christmas Wedding Date. She played Linda, a mother whose young adult son has terminal cancer, in the 2013 film,
Reach. Hicks was one of the eight actresses in the
Showtime documentary,
That Gal... Who Was in That Thing (2015), as she shared her experiences and challenges of being a female actor. In January 2023, Hicks revealed she had quit acting. ==Personal life==