[1] She attended Miss Rounds' School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (graduating in 1899), and was involved with the Brooklyn Cantata Club.

[2] After graduating, she was active in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni society, and served on its library committee in 1904, with elocutionist Helena Zachos.

[4][5] Dunblane's stage credits included roles in Cyrano de Bergerac (1898) with Richard Mansfield,[6] Hearts are Trumps (1900),[7] The Cuckoo (1900),[8] Her Majesty (1900),[9] Lovers' Lane (1901),[10] Her Atonement (1899 and 1901),[11][12] The Worst Woman in London (1903),[2] Much Ado About Nothing (1903),[13] His Sister's Shame (1903),[14] and Don Carlos (1905).

Her short fiction, often romance stories, appeared in magazines and newspapers, with titles including "The Girl in the Bookshop" (1903),[17] "Beating the Game" (1907),[18] "Studio Number Six: The Story of a Musician" (1907),[19] "Romance at Ryerson's" (1908),[20] "Two Ways of Love" (1912),[21] "Love's Command" (1913), "Otilla's Triumph" (1914),[22] "The White Gardenia" (1915), "The Girl Who Was Charming" (1915),[23] and "Jasmine's Decision" (1915).

[24] The band Tommy McClymont & The Panacea Jamband recorded a song, "Nora Dunblane", about the actress, on their album May the Ladies Treat You Kindly (2016).