Although he was eighteen years her senior, the two fell in love, and at the age of fifteen she married Parrish, under the name Gertrude McElroy.

[1] For their honeymoon, she and her husband started out on motorcycles from his family's home in Claymont, Delaware, intending to drive across the country to California.

Parrish was severely injured in an accident in the Southwestern United States and, once she was physically able, they completed the remainder of the journey via train.

[citation needed] In 1929, she and her husband moved permanently to California, where, a few years later, Parrish was signed to a contract with Samuel Goldwyn's motion picture company.

[2] Parrish became a "WAMPAS Baby Star", touring the country to promote motion pictures through the Shriners sponsorship.