In 1929, when she was six, she won a movie-theater door prize--dance lessons. By age eight she was dancing regularly. She was spotted by Xavier Cugat when she was 12 and was singing and dancing with his band in Detroit at age 15.
She also guest-starred in three episodes of the hit Western series her husband Roy Huggins produced and sometimes wrote for, "Cheyenne" starring Clint Walker (1955, 1956, 1958).
She was spotted by a Columbia talent agent at age 18 (1941).