[2] McCoy was born in Rome, Georgia, on June 30, 1896, and she attended schools in Nassau, Tennessee.

[4] She began working for Gaumont studios in 1916[5] and also acted for Zitaphone, Biograph, and Pathe.

[4] In 1915, the Gertrude McCoy Theater opened in West Baltimore's Easterwood section.

[6] McCoy married British actor Duncan McRae in 1919.

In the 1930s, McCoy moved to Atlanta to care for her mother, who was an invalid.