In circa 1860 she became a ballet girl in the resident company of the Cleveland Academy of Music, shortening her name to Morris at that time.

[1] Mr. Daly engaged her to play in the Fifth Avenue Theatre, then located on West Twenty-fourth street; not as a leading act, but to fill whichever roles he deemed necessary.

In the season of 1870–71, Man and Wife was in preparation for opening when the lead lady originally designated to play the role of Anne Silvester declined the part, and Ms. Morris stepped up to the position.

On opening night, September 13, she made her debut in a major city, and ended up being recalled in an early scene in the play before the act was terminated - an unusual occurrence in the theatre at the time.

She left Daly in 1873 and in November of that year starred under A.M. Palmer's management in The Wicked World at the Union Square Theatre.

[1] In an article Morris wrote for the March 1904 issue of Metropolitan magazine, she recounted her encounter with Mark Twain.

In retirement in Riverdale, New York, she contributed articles on acting to various magazines, wrote a daily newspaper column for ten years, and published numerous books.

[1][5] There is a plaque on the grounds of the Cleveland Public Library marking the location of Clara Morris' home when she was young.

Opened in 1868, the building was originally named the St. Clair School and held 16 rooms with "the windows, pointed in the Gothic manner.

"[6] Other notable roles of her career are: For some years after 1885, she devoted herself mainly to literary work, writing:[1] In her book Life on the Stage: My Personal Experiences and Recollections she recounts her meeting with John Wilkes Booth the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.