Godowsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, on November 24, 1897, the daughter of Polish-Jewish composer Leopold Godowsky and Frederica "Frieda" Saxe (1870–1933), who was of German descent,[1][2] although she later claimed she was born in Vilna, Russian Empire (present-day Vilnius, Lithuania) in her autobiography, First Person Plural.

She had an older sister, Vanita Hedwig (1892–1961), and two younger brothers, Leopold Godowsky Jr. and Gutram "Gordon" (1905–1932), who was born in Berlin.

Among her other film credits are Red Lights (1923), The Common Law (1923), Virtuous Liars (1924), and The Price of a Party (1924).

Godowsky wed silent screen actor Frank Mayo in Tijuana, Mexico, on October 2, 1921.

"[9] In the book, she named Enrico Caruso, Arthur Rubinstein, Jascha Heifetz, Charles Chaplin, Igor Stravinsky, and Valentino among her "great loves."

"[citation needed] In her later years, she made frequent appearances in London and on television talk shows in New York City.