[3] She was a cast member in Will Morrissey's Hot Rhythm (1930),[3] along with George Wiltshire.

[9] Fay M. Jackson described her in 1935:[10] Over the kilocycle waves, she is the light hearted Mignonette, one of the bright lights of radio’s original musical comedy, The Gibson Family [...] Off the air, she is the equally pert and lively Gee Gee James.

A topnotch voice, pluck, persistence, and constitutional good humor combine to further her ambition.An episode of The Gibson Family that aired on May 12, 1935 featured a wedding between James' character Mignonette, and Theophilus (played by another African American actor, Ernest Whitman; see Personal life below), with Hall Johnson's choir performing.

[11] She performed comedy with Eddie Green on Louis Armstrong's radio program in 1937.

[5][12][13] A 1938 profile highlighted her role as Tulip on Hilltop House, and described her as "one of the best known radio actresses on the air today.