On 1 March 1909, she married engineer Henry John Spencer;[2] in 1913 they had twins, a boy and girl, stillborn.
In 1924, her younger sister Dorothy married architect John D. Moore, and through him, Spencer was introduced to Sydney Ure Smith, and in 1927 she became sub-editor to Ure Smith's magazine Home.
[4] She left Ure Smith for London in 1932 and in 1933 was appointed fashion editor for Queen (later known as Harper's Bazaar.
While in Sydney on holiday in 1937 she accepted a post on Associated Newspapers' Woman magazine, under Vera Hamilton, editor since 1935.
[citation needed] Spencer took an increasingly responsible role in the management of Australia and its "Christmas annual", Week-end Book, to no avail, as it never became profitable.