Matray became a star of late Weimar cinema.

Following the Nazi takeover in 1933, Matray, who was Jewish, went into exile – initially in France and Britain before moving to the United States.

She was the daughter of engineer and later director of AEG Georg Stern and his wife Lisbeth (née Schmidt), who was the younger sister of artist Käthe Kollwitz.

Matray's older sisters were actress Johanna Hofer and dancer Katta Sterna.

Hofer's father was Jewish and her mother was Lutheran.