She was trained by the Theatre Guild and made her Broadway debut in 1926 as a teenage ingénue in "Devil in the Cheese". During the following decade, she matured into a critically acclaimed stage actress, noted particularly for her performances in "June Moon" (1929) and "They Shall Not Die" (1934). Unable to translate that theatrical success to the screen, she remained on stage and did not return to celluloid for almost two decades until resurfacing on television..