[4] She became interested in dramatics during her two years[6] attending the Academy of San Luis Rey, a Roman Catholic convent and boarding school in Oceanside, California.

[6] Emerson joined the San Diego Community Theatre,[7] and the St. James Repertory Theater, performing in summer stock productions in California.

[10] In 1941, while appearing in a stage production of Here Today at the San Diego Municipal Theater, Emerson was spotted by a talent agent from Warner Bros.

[10] She subsequently signed a contract with the studio, appearing in bit parts before having supporting roles in Bad Men of Missouri and Nine Lives Are Not Enough (both released in 1941).

Though Roosevelt was married, Emerson and he linked up, strongly urged on by the generous efforts of Hughes and his social facilitator, Johnny Meyer.

[clarification needed] Emerson and Roosevelt married on December 3, 1944, at the rim of Grand Canyon, where she was filming Hotel Berlin.

Emerson continued to appear in a number of crime dramas, co-starring with Zachary Scott in three: The Mask of Dimitrios (1944), Danger Signal (1945), and Guilty Bystander (1950).

She co-starred with John Garfield in the film noir Nobody Lives Forever and opposite Jane Wyman in Crime by Night.

Murder in the Big House, made in 1942, was re-released in 1945 when co-star Van Johnson became a teen idol; the film was retitled Born for Trouble.

In late 1948, after having made her Broadway debut in The Play's the Thing,[14] Emerson attempted suicide on Christmas Day 1948 by slitting her wrists, and was hospitalized.

She was hostess and narrator of NBC's Cavalcade of Fashion[19] from August 13 to December 16, 1948...The Faye Emerson Show (CBS) debuted on October 24, 1949 and ended, April 12, 1952.

[20]In November 1948,[21] Emerson hosted Paris Cavalcade Of Fashions, filmed for movie theaters and aired on NBC (Julie Gibson later replaced her).

She was such a frequent panelist on game shows like To Tell The Truth and I've Got a Secret that she was known as "The First Lady of Television" [33] (although that title was sometimes applied to others, including Ruth Lyons and Lucille Ball).

Former brother-in-law James Roosevelt wrote: "After an incident involving some teenage girls, [Skitch] was dropped from Johnny Carson's Tonight TV show, and his career went into eclipse.

After having made her Broadway debut in The Play's the Thing,[14] Emerson attempted suicide on Christmas Day 1948 by slitting her wrists and was hospitalized.