Scarwid's first film appearance was in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby (1978). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as John Savage's girlfriend in Inside Moves (1980). Scarwid portrayed Rose Kennedy in the made-for-TV JFK: The Restless Years (1993), and Bess Truman in the HBO film Truman (1995), for which she earned an Emmy nomination.