"[3] Russell's beauty brought her to the attention of Paramount Pictures in 1942, and she signed a long-term contract with that studio when she was 18.

Producer Charles Brackett wrote that filming with Russell proved difficult; he said that she would cry on set with her mother, claiming she had a sore throat, but in fact, Russell was crying because Director Lewis Allen had made her wear a hat for a scene which she did not want to wear.

"[8] According to Allen, Russell, who had not drunk alcohol before, began drinking it to calm herself at the suggestion of the head of make-up on set.

[9] A delighted Paramount announced Russell for Her Heart in Her Throat and True to the Navy with Eddie Bracken.

[citation needed] Russell co-starred opposite Alan Ladd in Salty O'Rourke (1945), a horse racing drama.

[11] Her Heart in Her Throat became the third film Russell made with Allen, The Unseen (1945), an unofficial follow up to The Uninvited.

Russell returned to Paramount for Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), directed by John Farrow, who had made Calcutta.

She made some more Pine-Thomas films: Captain China (1950) with Payne, and The Lawless (1951) with Macdonald Carey directed by Joseph Losey.

According to Yvonne de Carlo, actress Helen Walker took Russell "under her wing and introduced her to the tranquilizing benefits of vodka" when they were Paramount contractees together.

[19] Russell was already drinking on set by her third film, 1944's The Uninvited, to ease her paralyzing stage fright and lack of confidence.

In January 1954, in a court in Santa Monica, California, Russell pleaded guilty to a charge of drunkenness, receiving a $150 fine (equivalent to $1,700 in 2023).

The fine was in lieu of a jail sentence, with the provision that she not use intoxicants or attend night spots for two years.

[28] Russell returned to work in a co-starring role with Randolph Scott in the western Seven Men from Now (1956), produced by her friend Wayne and directed by Budd Boetticher.

[5] Russell was expected to follow Seven Men from Now with Madame Courage, again with Boetticher as director, but the film was never made.

"[37] In November 1960 she was announced for a film with Mark Stevens and George Raft called Cause of Death[38] but it appears to have not been made.

[30][40] Russell died from liver damage attributed to "acute and chronic alcoholism" with aspiration of stomach contents as an additional cause.