[1] Along with Florence Lawrence, Marion Leonard, and other female performers there, she was often referred to by theatergoers and in trade publications as simply one of the "Biograph girls".

Arvidson began working in the new, rapidly expanding film industry after meeting her future husband D. W. Griffith, who impressed her as an innovative screen director.

[4] Arvidson's first professional role was on stage at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco in a 1904 adaptation of The Christian by British novelist Hall Caine.

When Knights Were Bold, Arvidson's first picture at Biograph, was directed by Sidney Olcott and included Griffith in the cast as well, marking the couple's only appearance together on screen.

In her memoir, Arvidson described most of the characters she played in her early film career as "the sympathetic, the wronged wife, the too-trusting maid...waiting for the lover who never came back.

During their days on set, the women spent time getting ready with elaborate makeup for the camera while Griffith as a director would take only the men out to lunch.

At the time the San Francisco Earthquake occurred in 1906, Griffith was finding work in Boston, where Arvidson notified him by telegram about the disaster.

When Arvidson arrived, the two spontaneously rode to the Old North Church and wrote their names in the wedding registry, and then they moved to New York City.

Arvidson served as the leading person who supported Griffith's success in his budding film career, first as an actor, then writer, then director.