She gained fame for her role as Mary Henry in the independent horror film Carnival of Souls (1962).

She acted at the Cape Cod Playhouse, appeared in a touring production of Idiot's Delight with Nina Foch, performed in television programs produced in New York, and worked as a dancer at the Copacabana nightclub.

Following her graduation from there in 1956, she was one of five models who traveled to South America on a month-long tour to demonstrate then-new American fashions.

[5] She is best known for her portrayal of Mary Henry, a church organist haunted by specters, in Carnival of Souls (1962), a low-budget horror film that has developed a cult following.

[7] She stated that at the time, she took the role as a "take-the-money-and-run type of situation";[9] she was paid approximately $2,000 for her work in the film.