Cordelia Richards is an actress/writer born and raised in Manhattan, where she completed the Professional Workshop at the Circle In the Square Theater on Broadway after receiving her BA in Theater Arts from Brown University.

She began her professional career immediately afterward and worked steadily in the Off Broadway Theater with new and established living playwrights such as Romulus Linney, Jon Robin Baitz, and Israel Horovitz, and with directors Joe Mantello, Kevin Dowling, Stephen Zuckerman and Dan Sullivan among others. She also began her work in episodic television in New York, guest starring in such shows as NYPD Blue, Law and Order and New York News (directed by Michael Apted).

She continued her work in television in Los Angeles, on such shows as The Defenders, the Practice, Family Law, Close to Home, the Client, Strong Medicine, the Pretender, Dragnet, and several Movies of the Week, with directors Jack Bender, James Frawley, and Tim Busfield, to name a few.

In Los Angeles, she also began her film career, on such films as Erin Brockovich with Director Stephen Soderbergh, Practical Magic, directed by Griffin Dunne (starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman), and Original Sin, directed by Michael Kristofer (starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas).

While living in Los Angeles Cordelia met and married her husband Chris Richter, and took time from her career to devote herself to raising their daughter. She recently returned to acting in the short film Felly (2015), written and directed by Alev Aydin.