Suzanne Ford was born Suzanne Riford in a tiny rural hamlet called Half Acre in upstate New York, in the Finger Lakes region, just a hop and a skip from her grandparents' dairy farm down the road. Earliest memory: jumping into a huge pile of hay from a great height in the hay barn.

 

Growing up was a bizarre mixture of two completely different worlds. One was the 4-H Club, taking care of a pony and showing prize Guernsey cattle, and the other, from the age of five, was starring in children's theatre productions, some of which toured around the state on a mobile stage. You name it, she played it ~ Cinderella, Alice, Dorothy, Puck, Jack, Red Riding Hood, even Till Eulenspeigel (look it up). After Kent School in Connecticut, where she won the Drama Prize, she majored in theatre at Ithaca College and, bravely albeit briefly, trained for opera at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester while at night dancing and singing on tables at the local Holiday Inn.

 

Leaving this breathtaking glamour behind, she and her husband moved to New York, where she studied first with Stella Adler and then with the master, William Esper. She has appeared in more than 100 stage productions in NY, on tour, and in regional theatres around the country.

 

In Los Angeles she has worked extensively in TV and film, and is currently appearing to amused acclaim as the hapless Beverly Hills denizen Felicity in the Netflix hit Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Other recent film work: a totally wacky role in the upcoming Found Footage (it's like Spinal Tap but with Bigfoot. That's all she can reveal). And a terrifically dramatic turn as a glamorous narcissist in the suspense thriller Broken Tides. both of which are in post production. 

 

On the small screen, Suzanne just shot a fun guest star role in Netflix's new comedy series Running Point from Mindy Kaling, starring Kate Hudson. Other recent TV work includes a series regular role in the pilot For Years to Come — nominated for best pilot at the prestigious International TV festival Die Seriale. She's guest starred on many TV shows including top-of-show on Magnum P.I., Fresh Off the Boat, The Cool Kids, Grace and Frankie, Swedish Dicks, Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, Criminal Minds, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Anger Management, The Mindy Project, The Middle, Monk, Bones, How I Met Your Mother, House, That 70s Show, Las Vegas, and Friends, among others.

 

Other favorite film roles are the ill-fated villain in the 2022 hilarious short comedy film Lucy and a lead role opposite Michael Dorn in fest-fave Entwined. This followed a juicy supporting role in the Duplass Brothers' quirky hit Manson Family Vacation. Additional film work includes A Date to Die For, Jack & Cocaine and You & Me. Suzanne has also played supporting roles in big budget features like The Apparition, starring Ashley Greene and Tom Felton, The Informers, starring Kim Basinger, Mickey Roarke, Brad Renfroe and Billy Bob Thornton, and You, Me & Dupree, starring Matt Dillon, Kate Hudson, Owen Wilson and Michael Douglas. Leading roles in smaller independent films include the thriller MoniKa with C. Thomas Howell, Darkening Sky with Rider Strong, Uncross the Stars with Barbara Hershey and Ron Perlman, and Of Silence with writer/director/star Jeremiah Sayys.

 

She appears regularly in theatre productions on the west coast, next in the new historical drama In Whose Eyes? by George Kappaz, following last season's brilliant Christopher Shinn play Now or Later. [One critic said, "The play comes alive when Suzanne Ford appears as Jessica. Ms. Ford simply electrifies."] In the pipeline is the lovely new play Entangled by Dale Griffiths Stamos. As a member of Rogue Machine, The Road Theatre and Pacific Resident Theatre, she's lucky to have worked with some of the best directors, playwrights and actors in the country. Favorite stage work includes a widely-praised Polly in Other Desert Cities at International City Theatre in Long Beach, as well as roles at The Laguna Playhouse and La Mirada Center for the Performing Arts. Suzanne lives in the Hollywood Hills with her husband, Alan Toman, a financial advisor. Their brilliant and beautiful daughter Caroline lives on the east coast with her physician husband and two incredibly attractive and talented children, whom Suzanne does not spoil in any way.

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