Tested for the part of "Mammy" in Gone With The Wind (1939). She lost out to Hattie McDaniel, because she was considered too light-skinned, but ended up playing the role in a 1940 CBS radio serial of Gone With the Wind.
Originated the role of Maria in the play 'Porgy,' written by Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward, when it premiered on Broadway in 1927 under the direction of Rouben Mamoulian. She returned to the role in a 1929 revival, also directed by Mamoulian.