Oakes was a frequent guest star on television series during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including roles on McCloud, Delvecchio, Switch, B. J. and the Bear, Barnaby Jones, The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. She also starred as Sally in the 1978 theatrical crime drama Acapulco Gold and had recurring roles as Georgia on the 1977 television series Rosetti and Ryan and as a young Taurus woman on the original Battlestar Galactica.
While competing on a 1979 edition of Battle of the Network Stars, Oakes (on the NBC team) met her Future husband, actor Gregory Harrison of Trapper John, M.D. fame (playing for the CBS team). Oakes and Harrison were married on December 21, 1980, although their marriage was kept secret from the public for several years. Together, they have three daughters, Emma Lee (born 1985), Lily Anne (born 1989), and Kate (born 1991). The couple also adopted a son, Quinn Edgar. The couple originally lived together in Sherman Oaks, California, but since the early 1990s the family has lived in Southern Oregon; first in Gold Beach for 15 years then relocating to Eugene.
A guest role as a car thief in the episode "Down Time" on CHiPs led to the featured role as the blonde police officer Bonnie Clark that made her a household name. She appeared on the series from the beginning of its third season until the end of its fifth season. Along with costar Larry Wilcox, Oakes left the show in 1982. According to a 1983 article that appeared in People, a lack of time spent with husband Gregory Harrison led to the actress's departure from CHiPs.
Oakes appeared on multiple editions of Circus of the Stars and was a frequent competitor on (and one-time host of) Battle of the Network Stars. Her claim to fame in the latter is that she was "dunked" more times than any other competitor in the Baseball Dunk event. She retired from acting to be a full-time mother after the birth of her first child in 1985.
As of 2015, Oakes returned to television, with other notable CHiPs stars, for a series of introductions and interviews for METV's weekly CHiPs reruns.
