After Bette Davis refused the lead role in Four Daughters (1938), an adaptation of Fannie Hurst's novel "Sister Act", Priscilla's sister, Lola Lane, suggested to Jack L. Warner that she and her three other sisters star in the tearjerker. Priscilla and Rosemary Lane were signed on, but the oldest sister Leota Lane, who was flown in from New York to test for the part, was deemed unsuitable by the studio. Actress Gale Page replaced her. The movie was a hit, made a star out of John Garfield, and spawned two sequels: Four Wives (1939) and Four Mothers (1941).
After turning down roles in Money and the Woman (1940) and My Love Came Back (1940), and asking for a raise, Priscilla was put on suspension by Jack L. Warner.
Following her retirement, she followed her Air Force husband around from the world from base to base, often singing at camp shows. They eventually settled in New England and had four children: Joseph Lawrence (1945), Hannah (1950), Judith (1953) and James (1955).
Hosted The Priscilla Lane Show on a Boston television station in 1958.
She had been dating assistant director and screenwriter Oren Haglund. They eloped to Yuma, Arizona on January 14, 1939, but Priscilla left him the following day. The marriage was soon annulled.
She is buried in Arlington National Cemetary (Section 60, Grave 1288, Grid EE-22) next to her husband, Col. Joe Howard, who was buried there with full military honors in 1976.
Sister of stage actress Leota Lane [1904-1963] with whom she appeared in a 'Lux Radio Theatre' adaptation of Four Daughters (1938) in 1939.
Was considered for the role of Melanie Wilkes in Gone with the Wind (1939).