Throughout the 1990s, Harden continued to appear in films and television. She played actress Ava Gardner alongside Philip Casnoff as Frank Sinatra in the made for TV miniseries Sinatra in 1992. Even so, at the time, living in New York City, Harden had to go back to doing catering jobs “because I didn’t have any money”. Harden appeared in the Coen brothers’ Miller’s Crossing (1990)which is a 1930s mobster drama in which she first gained wide exposure. She also appeared in The Imagemaker (1986), her first movie screen role, in which she played a stage manager. Harden appeared in several television programs, including Simon & Simon, Kojak, and CBS Summer Playhouse throughout the 1980s. Her first film role was in a 1979 student-produced movie at the University of Texas.
