After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Anna Andersen, a widow since 1898, moved the family to Oakland, California, where the sisters took their stage names.

[citation needed] Edna and Vivien appeared in vaudeville as the Anker sisters (an old family name).

In November 1924, she had an important role in Heidelberg, the musical version of a play made famous by Richard Mansfield.

Oakland's film career lasted into the late 1940s with uncredited roles in Tonight and Every Night (1945), Thrill of a Romance (1945), and Riverboat Rhythm (1946).

In 1919, she married Captain Garnette Rotan,[4][5] who served with distinction in World War I and later wrote as a theatre critic under the name Pierre de Rohan.