[3] De La Motte began her entertainment career studying ballet under Anna Pavlova.

In 1918, at the age of 16, she made her screen debut in the Douglas Fairbanks-directed romantic comedy film Arizona.

She first wed silent film actor John Bowers in 1924, who was then a matinee idol of the silver screen.

De La Motte later married attorney Sidney H. Rivkin whom she divorced after four years of marriage.

[7] Her cousin,[citation needed] Clete Roberts, was an American war correspondent and journalist, who appeared in two episodes of the television series M*A*S*H* in the 1970s.