Her ability to play almost any part quickly caught the attention of more prolific companies, and she made her Broadway debut in 1888.

She then became a leading lady with some of the best stock companies in America, scoring triumphs in San Francisco, Boston, and other cities.

Her biggest stage triumph came in 1923 when she created the role of Widow Caggle in the hit play Sun Up.

In 1934, La Verne experienced a life-threatening medical emergency and needed the muscles along her rib cage to be reconstructed by Los Angeles surgeons, from which she recovered.

Lucille La Verne died at the age of 72 in Culver City, California on March 4, 1945,[2] after suffering from lung cancer.