Born in Pennsylvania and raised in Delaware, the petite, zaftig Freeman originally intended to study medicine but switched to art and theater in college. After graduation, she broke into theater in the Broadway and touring companies of the Fats Waller musical revue "Ain't Misbehavin'" in the late 1970s and spent the next decade alternating between appearing on stage in shows like "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and "Nunsense" and working odd jobs as a typist and substitute teacher.
Relocating to Los Angeles in the early 1990s, Freeman began to find work in small roles in films like "Switch" and "Dead Again" (both 1991) and as a guest on TV series ranging from sitcoms (e.g., "Doctor, Doctor" and "Down the Shore") to dramatic fare (i.e., "True Blue", "Life Goes On") as well as an occasional TV-movie like HBO's "Norma Jean and Marilyn" (1996). Since achieving small screen success in her dual roles, she returned to her stage roots portraying singer Dinah Washington in several productions of the biographical stage musical "Dinah Was".