- Her sister Pauline "Dee Dee" Nelson also became an actress. She married actor Charles King in 1919.
- Her first acting job was in the Bull's Eye Follies, a series of short comedies produced by the Bull's Eye film company. These films are now considered lost.
- She was chosen to be Jack Hoxie's leading lady in the 1921 western Cyclone Bliss. She would make ten more films with Jack including The Crow's Nest, The Desert Bridegroom, and Two-Fisted Jefferson.
- By the time she finished filming Desert Rider in June of 1923 she was physically and emotionally exhausted.
- She was buried in an unmarked grave at Rosedale cemetery in Los Angeles, California. In 2022 her fans raised the money to finally buy her a headstone.
- She committed suicide by turning on the gas in her apartment. Her mother discovered her dead body in the kitchen. Evelyn left two suicide notes for her family. The first note said "I'm tired, oh so tired. Life has beaten me. It is a hopeless, tiresome, useless struggle. Struggles, disappointment, sadness - what's the use? Goodbye". A second note said "I'm going - it's nearly over - soon to my friends - peace - my pal Wally Reid. Farewell.".
- Her father, William Nelson, was a miner and cattle owner.
- In 1922 Evelyn began a passionate affair with married actor Wallace Reid. He quickly ended the relationship because he was fearful it would ruin his career. Tragically in January of 1923 Wallace died of a drug overdose. She was devastated by his death and fell into a deep depression.
- In an interview she said "The studio belt is naturally steeped in an atmosphere of artificiality. If one lives there too long one becomes unreal.".
- At the age of nineteen she began her acting career with the Bulls-Eye Film Company. Evelyn appeared in several comedies directed by Charley Chase including Don't Park Here. In 1920 she was signed by Vitagraph and co-starred with Oliver Hardy in the films The Backyard and The Decorator.
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