Died on the day before her 81st birthday.
She was not in good standing with Louella Parsons and it kept her career stuck in the "B" ranks. Lee's husband, magazine writer Tom Wood, wrote a frank piece on Parsons which did not go over well with the powerhouse columnist.
Signed with RKO in 1937 so she could repeat her Broadway performance in Stage Door (1937). RKO owned the film rights. However, her role was rewritten for two other actresses, Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers.
Studio biographies trimmed ten years off her actual age.
Was once seriously considered for the title role in the tearjerker Stella Dallas (1937), which went to Barbara Stanwyck, who won an Oscar nomination.