Born in Chicago, Illinois, Moran started in vaudeville, and widely toured North America, as well as various other locations that included Europe and South Africa.

She partnered with the famous Broadway star Marie Dressler in The Callahans and the Murphys (1927); and the two appeared in eight additional films together, such as Chasing Rainbows (1930), Caught Short (1930), and Prosperity (1932).

In 1940, Moran retired to her home in Laguna Beach, California, but maintained an active Hollywood social life and was known for practical jokes.

She once ran a failed campaign for a Laguna Beach City Council seat on a "Pro Dogs" platform.

[5] After a marriage that ended in divorce in 1917, Moran married attorney and former prizefighter Martin T. Malone in 1933.