[1] Her parents were Joby Howland, a Civil War veteran who at age 11 was one of the youngest enlistees in the conflict, and his wife Mary C. Bunting.

[2][3] Having performed as an amateur actress, Howland left her Denver, Colorado, home to seek professional work on stage.

During her long theatrical career, she apprenticed everything from drawing room farces to musical comedies always seeming to play the other woman, a best friend's pal or a distant cousin.

She didn't achieve the kind of stardom of other beautiful actresses such as Elsie Ferguson, but was content to play the amiable and much needed support so vital in numerous Broadway productions.

In sound films, she typically played the kind of roles she had mastered on the stage, the domineering but dependable support.