She starred in Oscar Micheaux films, including Murder in Harlem and Swing!.

[2] Born Donessa Dorothy Van Engle in Harlem, New York, on August 14, 1910,[3] she grew up with her mother and stepfather, being influenced by the latter's band and show business activities.

[4] In 1938's Swing!, she played the role of an assistant producer to the black male lead who played a producer character and it was her role that was responsible for making the critical show idea that allowed the male lead to be successful in the film.

Ohio State University's professor of film studies, J. Ronald Green, described her as one of the few primary women actors cast by Micheaux and she frequently played intelligent and strong-minded characters that acted as a "proto-feminist role" for women at the time.

[1] Green further stated that it was these race films that were the sole source of positive representation of black Americans in media during the early half of the 20th century.