Settling near the Lafayette Theater, Harris was convinced into pursuing a career in show business by Ethel Waters and Maud Russell who were frequent visitors to her family home.

After being coached on her singing and dancing by Waters and Russell, Harris began performing in the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA).

Harris began her acting career with The Green Pastures (1936), starring with Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson.

[4] Edna Mae Harris got to tell her story in her later years in the documentary, Midnight Ramble (1994), about independently produced black films.

Her first marriage was to Edward Randolph from 1933 until 1938, then to Harlem nightclub owner, Walter Anderson, from 1951 until his death in 1983.