After Ward's stint on Boy Meets World, she appeared in the independent film Dish Dogs, a romantic comedy in which she co-stars with Brian Dennehy, Matthew Lillard and Sean Astin.
This role lasted until the series ended in 2000. Her character of Rachel McGuire was added to Boy Meets World in 1998, at the beginning of the sixth season, as a main cast member. Ward had guest-starring roles on USA High and the seventh season of ABC's Home Improvement and co-starred with Jay Thomas and Mario Lopez in the 1997 television film Killing Mr. She landed that role, which was her first acting role, when she was 16 and still a junior in high school. Ward starred as Jessica Forrester on The Bold and the Beautiful, where she appeared from 1994 to 1996.
