Brunette leading lady of Scottish and Swedish ancestry. From the age of sixteen, she played leading roles in the silents, usually as vamps or the 'other woman'. Her voice presented no problem for her when talking pictures came into vogue, in fact, she dubbed for Louise Brooks in the 1929 mystery 'The Canary Murder Case'. She retired from films in the mid-30s to concentrate on her marriage to bandleader Paul Whiteman and co-authoring a book about her overweight husband, entitled 'Whiteman's Burden'.
Mistress of Thomas H. Ince and on the fateful trip aboard the Hearst yacht when Ince was shot / "taken ill with indigestion" two days before he died. A long-standing rumor whispered about Hollywood, the story was the basis of the play and movie The Cat's Meow (2001).
Younger sister of actress Ivy Livingston.