From 1996 to 1997 she starred as Mission Specialist Tamara St. James in the television series The Cape. In 2015 she had a recurring role as Roxanne Ford in the TV series Empire. Ferrell has starred in the movies School Daze, The Exorcist III, Jungle Fever, Boyz n the Hood, White Men Can’t Jump, Poetic Justice, The Perfect Score, and Boxed In. She has also appeared in episodes of the TV series Hill Street Blues, Moonlighting, The Twilight Zone, Mr. Belvedere, Quantum Leap, Full House, Thirtysomething, The Shield, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2005 Ferrell was nominated for an Image Award for NTSB: The Crash of Flight 323.