By 1896, billed as "The World's Youngest Interlocutor", she was performing in minstrel shows as a male impersonator,[5] often credited as E. L. Brown to disguise her gender.

She developed an act in which she wore a top hat and tails, sang several songs as a man, and then revealed her long hair and continued singing as a woman.

[7] Brown appeared on Broadway, toured in Europe, and performed at many of the major nightclubs in Harlem and on the Keith vaudeville circuit.

[6] She also wrote, performed and produced plays for the Abyssinian Baptist Church,[5] and was active in the African American Actors Guild.

[5] Brown died at St. Rose's Home at 71 Jackson Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, on June 8, 1969, at the age of 84.