Her erratic screen career was triggered by severe bouts with what was euphemistically referred to as tuberculosis, but whispered to be the results of acute alcoholism.
Her turbulent marriage to matinee idol James Kirkwood in the 1920s came very close to an "A Star Is Born" scenario. Her acting career was shooting up while his was plummeting. They divorced in 1931.
She had starred in nine films in 1929. She then had tuberculosis in the 1930s and a stay at the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital in Saranac Lake, New York until her death.
Her son, writer James Kirkwood Jr., authored two Hollywood novels: "There Must Be a Pony" and "Some Kind of Hero", both of which contain a character based on his mother.
Was discovered by songwriter Gus Edwards while playing on the street with other children.
WAMPAS Baby Star of 1922.
Toured in "School Days" for ten years before she was spotted by film producer Jesse L. Lasky.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1716 Vine Street in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960, the exact same day as Bela Lugosi, her co-star in The Midnight Girl (1925) was posthumously awarded his.