She was the daughter of insurance executive William Marshall McConnell[1] and his wife, Harriet (née Sharp), and she had an older sister named Hazel.

[1] McConnell's interest in acting emerged when she accompanied her sister on a visit to Universal Pictures, where Hazel was to have a screen test.

Citing her skill with horses, McConnell went to the casting director's office to ask for an opportunity to appear in Westerns, and she eventually gained the kinds of roles that she sought.

[2] WAMPAS was a Hollywood promotional campaign that selected thirteen "baby stars" (slang at the time for starlets) as most likely to gain success.

A complaint filed by the Los Angeles prosecutor accused Wilson of two counts of violation of California's labor laws.

A 1920 US Federal Census shows her at about age 15 residing in Portland, Oregon with her mother, father, and older sister Hazel.