She wrote an as yet unproduced screenplay on the life of friend María Montez.
She met writer Peter Viertel through friend and roommate Maria Montez, and he introduced her to Val Lewton. She ultimately appeared in five pictures for Lewton's unit.
After Paramount dropped her she returned East to act in theater with Zasu Pitts. Russell and the comedienne became good friends and Pitts had her cast in two of her films, Miss Polly (1941)" and So's Your Aunt Emma! (1942).
Profiled in "Character Actors in Horror and Science Fiction Films, 1930-1960" by Laurence Raw (2012).