Smith first came to public attention with her role as Pam in the 1980 John Travolta film Urban Cowboy, and later co-starred in the films All of Me (1984), a Steve Martin-Lily Tomlin comedy, and 2010 (1984), the science fiction sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the early 1980s she also appeared in several TV movies, including Pray TV, Rehearsal for Murder and Deadly Intentions. She portrayed Jehan Al Sadat, wife of Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat, in the 1983 TV miniseries Sadat, and played Ernie Kovacs' wife Dorothy in the 1984 TV movie Ernie Kovacs: Between the Laughter.
Smith may be best known for her starring role as Tracy Whitney in the 1986 TV miniseries If Tomorrow Comes, based on the Sidney Sheldon novel of the same name. She subsequently costarred in films like Funny Farm (1988) opposite Chevy Chase and The Super (1991) with Joe Pesci; the 1990 TV movies The Plot to Kill Hitler and The Rose and the Jackal; and the 1990 miniseries The Kennedys of Massachusetts.
Born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Smith graduated from the University of Southern California. Smith married National Hockey League player Mark Osborne in 1988, and in her last television appearance was credited as Madolyn Smith-Osborne.
Smith guest-starred in a 1989 episode of the sitcom Cheers titled "What's Up, Doc?". She also appeared in multiple episodes of the 1993 drama series Class of '96, and her last TV appearance to date was a 1994 episode of Due South.
