She was educated at St. Monica's in Skipton, Yorkshire, and at the Convent of the Sacred Heart School[3] in Roehampton.

In 1908, she traveled to America with her stepsister to start a stage career, and in February 1909, she made her debut in the chorus of the Broadway musical comedy Havana.

She toured the United States, finding only small parts until 1913, when she started sending scenarios to film companies.

Other commissions followed, and the first film known to be credited to her is 1914's A Strand of Blond Hair, a Vitagraph comedy short starring John Bunny and Flora Finch.

[4] In 1936, she formed the company Opticolor to market in Britain a French motion picture colour system, Francita, developed by her husband, Maurice Velle, son of French film pioneer Gaston Velle, but the business failed after a disastrous demonstration of the system.