Finn moved back to New York City in 1983 to focus on her acting career.
Theater
In New York, she was a member of the Circle Repertory Company. At San Diego’s Old Globe Theatre, she co-starred opposite Jon Tenney and Mary Louise Parker as Effie Herrington in the play “Up in Saratoga,” which was directed by Jack O’Brien and written by Terrence McNally.
She appeared in the revival of “Biloxi Blues” at the Pasadena Playhouse, her second appearance in a West Coast theatre. For an evening at the Altadena Junction, she wrote and performed storytelling and poetry.
Television
Finn played Sierra Estaban Reyes Montgomery from 1985 to 1988, in the CBS daytime soap opera, “As the World Turns.”
The soap is set in Oakdale, Illinois, a fictional town, and aired for a total of 54 years, from 2 April 1956 to 17 September 2010 – Finn briefly reprised her role in 1994. The show was created by Irna Phillips as a sister-show to “Guiding Light,” another soap opera created by Irna, and is the third-longest continuous run of any American soap opera, surpassed only by “Guiding Light” and “General Hospital.” The soap opera was produced in Manhattan for 43 years, and from 2000 to 2010 in Brooklyn. In the early stages of the show, the episodes lasted for 15 minutes, then went up to 30 minutes, and on 1 December 1975, was increased to an hour. On 21 August 1967, the show switched to color.
The show attracted an average of ten million viewers every day, and from 1958 to 1978, it was the most-watched daytime drama.
In 1989 Finn played Sister Catherine in the television movie “Dream Breakers,” also known as “In Evil’s Grasp”, then from 1990 to 1991, she had the recurring role of a nurse, Linda Matlock Lanier, in the ABC drama series “China Beach.”
In 1997 she played Weaver, a regular cast member in “Secret Service Guy,” a short-lived sitcom on Fox. She also played Amy in the television movie, “Love in Another Town,” also known as “Barbara Taylor Bradford’s Love in Another Town.”
Finn played Marilyn in the television movie “Missing Pieces,” and the following year she played Mary Lee Orr in the television movie, “Taking Back Our Town.” In 2002 she appeared in another television movie, “The Pennsylvania Miners’ Story” as Missy Phillippi. Finn also guest-starred in “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Law & Order,” “Murder, She Wrote,” and “The Outer Limits.”
Film
In 1989 she starred as Nina Sachie in her film debut, “How I Got Into College”, opposite Anthony Edwards in the romantic comedy, which was produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Savage Steve Holland. The film also starred Lara Flynn Boyle and Corey Parker, and was also the film debut of Tom Kenny, who eventually became a famous voice actor.
The film follows Lara’s character, Jessica, who is trying to get accepted into a small college in Pennsylvania called Ramsey College, and Corey’s character, Marlon, who also tries to get accepted, but only because he is in love with Jessica.
Finn starred opposite Fred Ward and Kevin Bacon as Rhonda LeBeck in the 1990 film, “Tremors”, the monster-comedy written by S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Ron Underwood, and produced by S.S. Wilson, Brent Maddock and Gale Anne Hurd, directed by Ron Underwood. Reba McEntire and Michael Gross also starred in the film released by Universal Pictures, which follows Fred’s character, Earl Bassett and Kevin’s character, repairman Val McKee skipping town because they are bored of their dull lives in Perfection, Nevada.
On their adventure, however, they stumble upon mysterious deaths. Finn’s character, a seismologist named Rhonda, is concerned about the anomalous readings she has been studying from below the ground. She pairs with Val, Earl and an eccentric survivalist couple, Heather and Burt Gummer (played by Reba and Michael). Together, they fight against human-flesh-hungry monsters that resemble gigantic worms.
For her performance, Finn was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. At the box office, the film garnered $16 million.
She played the lead role of Sunny Justice in the 1992 film “Sweet Justice,” which is also known as “Killer Instincts”, and in 1996 played the supporting role of Cynthia Speetgens in Rob Reiner’s drama, “Ghosts of Mississippi,” which is also known as “Ghost from the Past.”
Her final appearance in a film was in 2005 as Bonnie in “Halfway Decent”, starring opposite Ernie Hudson in the independent film.
Painting
After leaving Hollywood, she turned to painting and drawing. She studied in Prague for a year, and her work became recognized and praised. When she returned to Los Angeles, she showcased her artwork on 22 July 2017 at a gallery, naming the showcase ‘standing on fishes.’ She currently still paints and sells her artwork.
