When Hammerstein's parents divorced, Jean Allison did not ask for permanent custody of Elaine but instead requested that her daughter be allowed to choose for herself when she reached the age of maturity.

Among her film credits are The Girl From Nowhere (1921), The Drums of Jeopardy (1923), Reckless Youth (1922), Broadway Gold (1923), and The Midnight Express (1924), opposite William Haines.

[2] Kays was a Los Angeles fire commissioner[2] and had been finance director for the California Democratic Party.

In August 1948, while returning from a trip to the Mexican border town of Tijuana, the Kays and three friends were traveling at high speed up a curving hillside road when they struck an oncoming car.

The six occupants of the Mexican vehicle all survived with minor injuries, but Hammerstein and her companions were trapped when their car skidded off the embankment and tumbled down the hill.