Dodd began her career on the Los Angeles stage in 1939, debuting in a revival of the play The Cradle Song with the Westwood Theatre Guild.

That same year, she appeared in And Eternal Darkness at the Call Board and the review read, "Molly Dodd as the love interest was appealing."

In February 1947, Dodd received a citation from the USO for her performance in Noël Coward's Private Lives at United States Army camps.

Dodd also played a mental patient in the TV movie How Awful About Allan (1970), which was written by her husband, and starred Anthony Perkins and Julie Harris.

[citation needed] Molly Dodd died at the age of 59 in Santa Monica from undisclosed causes and was interred at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.