[1] She is known for her work in the English films The Gay Lord Quex, Lady Audley's Secret and Hindle Wakes.

Bannerman was born in Toronto, Ontario on December 15, 1896 to parents Charles Grand and Margaret Hurst.

She attended Bishop Strachan School in Toronto, then the Mount Saint Vincent Academy in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A high point of her acting career was the part of Lady George Graystone in Somerset Maugham's Our Betters, which ran for 548 performances at the Globe Theatre in London, England.

In March 1929, Bannerman was in Melbourne where the Australian and English cricket teams where playing the fifth Test match for The Ashes.