[1] Her parents were Van and Cordelia Dukes, and she attended schools in Madisonville and Providence, Kentucky.

[1] McPhail began her work in films with Stern Brothers, a studio that produced short comedies that Universal distributed.

[citation needed] The physical demands of comedy gradually diminished McPhail's interest in acting, and she later said, "May I was never the actress I wanted to be.

After she retired from acting, she served for 17 years as a volunteer nurse at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.

[3] McPhail died of undisclosed causes in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, on April 14, 2003.