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 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. Recent feature film work includes a hilariously 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. AND as the hapless Beverly Hills denizen Felicity in the upcoming Eddie Murphy vehicle, Beverly Hills Cop IV — all of which are now in post production. It's been a busy few months.

 

Recent TV work includes a series regular role in the new pilot For Years to Come and a lead guest star role on Magnum P.I.  She's guest starred on many TV shows including 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, Friends, among others.

 

Other recent favorite film roles are the ill-fated villain in the short comedy film Lucy, now killing 'em in festivals, and a lead role opposite Michael Dorn in the fest-fave Entwined. This followed a juicy supporting role in the Duplass Brothers' quirky hit Manson Family Vacation. Other 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, opening in June '23 at The Matrix Theatre in the brilliant Christopher Shinn play Now or Later as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Also in the pipeline is the lovely play Entangled by Dale Griffiths Stamos. As a member of Rogue Machine, The Road and Pacific Resident Theatres, 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 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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