Vaccaro made her Broadway debut in the 1961 comedy Everybody Loves Opal, for which she received a Theatre World Award. She has since appeared in a number of films and television shows.
Some of Brenda Vaccaro’s films and television shows are listed below:
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Midnight Cowboy | Shirley | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1975 | Once Is Not Enough | Linda Riggs | Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 1977 | Capricorn One | Kay Brubaker | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress |
| 2016 | Kubo and the Two Strings | Kameyo | Voice |
| 2017 | The Clapper | Ida Krumble |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Naked City | Rosa Alloro | Episode: “The Corpse Ran Down Mulberry Street” |
| 1972 | McCloud | Police Officer Margaret Sereno | Episode: “The Park Avenue Rustlers” |
| 1974 | Streets of San Francisco | Hit Woman Sidney (AKA Sally Banning) | Episode: “The Most Deadly Species” |
| 1984 | Paper Dolls | Julia Blake | 13 episodes |
| 2018 | Summer Camp Island | Godmonster | Episode: “Monster Visit” |
