[6] She joined the staff of the radio station WBBM as a singer in the fall of 1929, performing both on local programs and on CBS network broadcasts.

[8] As an actress, in 1930, she portrayed village matron Frances Nichols in The Quilting Party and Lib, a mountain girl, on Market Day; both programs were on CBS.

[13] Films in which she appeared included Absolute Quiet, Idiot's Delight, Living in a Big Way,[12] This Gun for Hire, Great Guy, The Emperor's Candlesticks, King of Chinatown, The Judgement Book,[14] Trigger Tom,[15] Along Came Love,[16] Bunco Squad,[17] That's My Story,[18] and The Accusing Finger.

[19] She portrayed the sassy saloon girl Faro Annie in North of the Rio Grande, and starred in the musical comedy Idiot's Delight in 1939.

[citation needed] On Broadway, she had the roles of Mayme Speer in Mother Sings (1935), Hilda Zanhiser in Mid-West (1936), Gladys Cay in Aries Is Rising (1939, Mazie Stoner in Blind Alley (1940), Dean Baxter in School for Brides (1944),[20] and Mona Gilbert in Make Yourself at Home (1945).

[26] On August 29, 1987,[12] Hayes died in her sleep[2] of heart problems[13] at the age of 75 in her home in the Westchester area of Los Angeles.