She later embarked on a second career as a voice teacher in the United States, notably teaching for many years on the music faculty of the University of Southern California.

She joined a traveling cabaret troupe in her late teens but was later advised to quit in order to pursue a career as an opera singer.

During the early part of World War II, she entered the Royal Swedish Opera School in neutral Sweden on a scholarship where she studied under Adelaide von Skilondz.

In 1947-1948 she was a principal contralto at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie and made several appearances at La Monnaie in Brussels, Belgium.

In the mid-1950s she settled on the West Coast of the United States, raised a family, and continued to appear in concert, including a performance of Stravinsky’s Le Rossignol under the baton of the composer.