The multifaceted Deborah Smith Ford lives up to the word in many ways. She’s lived on a farm in the states, worked with The Christian Veterinary Assoc. with her husband, Dr. Alton Ford, DVM, under World Concern as self-supported shuttle missionaries in Kenya and Honduras, taught a variety of missionary school-aged children, and knows her way around assisting in both surgical and dental procedures. She also writes, models, and does voiceover and lookalike work. And though it seems like she could achieve just about anything, Deborah Smith Ford is most devoted to acting in television and film. In addition to her acting roles in commercials and independent movies, she was actively involved in the Florida Motion Picture and Television Association and is currently the president of United Film and Television Artists, Incorporated.
As you might guess from her diverse background, Deborah explored multiple interests in teaching, communications, and theater in college, all of which serve her to this day, but film ultimately won out among these subjects. This path has led to several commercials and two dozen films, including “Unearthed” by Craig Kovach, which premiered in March 2006.
In fact, science fiction has been a rich genre for Deborah lately; she’s even been known to step out as a few celebrity lookalikes, such as Audrey Hepburn or the Queen of Narnia. You’ll do a double take when you see her as Trinity from the sci-fi epic The Matrix. One of the challenges of bringing this modern icon to life is doing justice to Trinity’s physical strength and agility, but Deborah’s ongoing conditioning via Jazzercise, yoga, rock climbing, and bodybuilding have prepared her for the demands on her body. But don’t take our word for it; just look at Deborah’s 2006 Cloney Award from the International Guild of Celebrity Impersonators and Tribute Artists for proof.
In addition, Deborah has been filming the independent feature “Beowulf: Prince of the Geats” on location with director/executive producer Scott Wegener. In this film version of the Nordic epic poem, Deborah plays the Helldam, mother of Grendel, the legendary monster of the north as portrayed by actor/body builder Christian Boeving. After Grendel is killed by the fierce warrior Beowulf, Helldam must avenge her child’s death. For this film, she and her stunt double will both shoot underwater fight scenes, where once again, Deborah’s physical training will come in handy. The film is scheduled for release in March 2007.
Long before the silver screen beckoned, Deborah spent her young years on an apple farm in upstate New York, and these experiences have pushed her in at least two ways. For one, it inspired her to write a book, The Little Apple, based on her life on the farm. With illustrations by 
Susi Galloway, The Little Apple is meant to show children that a farm can be a farm without necessarily having farm animals on it. Deborah, herself, was surrounded by all kinds of farms, from her family’s apple orchards, with no livestock, to her uncle’s dairy farm, abundant with all kinds of animals.
Another benefit of her childhood in the country was harder to predict. Years later, the makers of Citracal cast her in a national TV and radio campaign. In her testimonial for the television commercial, Deborah shows off one of her farm-bred skills: driving a tractor. Deborah’s face smiles down from Citracal’s website (which, she says, she really does take), as well.
Already a busy mother, wife, and teacher, Deborah Smith Ford somehow manages to fit actress, model, and writer onto her resume too. Is there anything this woman can’t do? At this rate, you shouldn’t bet against it. Rather, maybe you should tune in and see for yourself as Deborah further explores her range of interests and talents. As a matter of fact, she’s under contract with two films right now to begin shooting in the summers of 2007 and 2008. One can keep abreast of Deborah and such future productions at .
