Faith Ford

Faith Alexis Ford is an American actress and model who was born in Alexandria, Louisiana, on September 14, 1964. She is best known for her television roles, including playing Corky Sherwood on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown and Hope Shanowski on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith.

Ford is the younger daughter of Patricia Walker, a schoolteacher, and Charles Ford, an insurance agent. She grew up in nearby Pineville and started acting while attending Pineville High School. At the age of 17, she moved to Manhattan to pursue modeling and acting.

Her television debut came in 1983 on the ABC series One Life to Live. She secured her first major role on the NBC soap opera Another World, playing Julia Shearer, a character previously played by Kyra Sedgwick. After moving to Hollywood, Ford gained a regular role on the sitcom The Popcorn Kid, appeared in five episodes of thirtysomething, and played a homeless woman on Family Ties.

Ford then joined the cast of Murphy Brown, serving on the series throughout its initial ten-year run. Following this, she executive-produced and starred in the short-lived 1998 sitcom Maggie Winters. From 1999 to 2001, she appeared on The Norm Show alongside Norm Macdonald, Laurie Metcalf, and Artie Lange. Later, she starred opposite Kelly Ripa on Hope & Faith for three years, portraying homemaker Hope Fairfield-Shanowski.

In addition to her television work, Ford appeared in the 2005 Disney film The Pacifier and the 2011 Disney teen movie Prom, playing Kitty Prescott. Her other television credits include the 2007 sitcom Carpoolers. She spoke about digital programming at the Digital Content NewFront in June 2009. In 2018, Ford reprised her role as Corky Sherwood for all 13 episodes of a Murphy Brown revival.

Beyond acting, Ford published a cookbook titled Cooking with Faith in 2004, drawing inspiration from her mother and grandmothers. She was married to Robert Nottingham from 1989 to 1996, and married writer/director Campion Murphy in 1998. She and Murphy coproduced the short film Citation of Merit, which screened at various film festivals. Throughout her career, Ford earned five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her role on Murphy Brown. Her sister, Devon O'Day, works in the entertainment industry, primarily in radio, and Ford has been diagnosed with Graves' disease.