Prior to her acting career, she had been a receptionist for notorious mobster
Bugsy Siegel, sitting in a "big plush office" on Sunset Boulevard, getting bored with little to do. In an interview, she added, "But I didn't know it, until he was murdered and I recognized his picture in the paper!". She also noted, "He was just like
George Raft, he had bodyguards--just like in the movies!".