Sometime after his birth Ince moved to Manhattan where his entire family was engaged in theater work; his father as a musical agent and mother, sister Bertha and brothers, John and Thomas as actors.

At times over his acting and directing career Ince would continue to contribute cartoons to popular magazines of the day.

Early on in his career Ince, who had done some stage acting as a child, was a member of Richard Mansfield's stock company playing parts in The College Widow and Ben Hur.

[3][4] Ince began directing at Vitagraph around 1910 and was officially advanced to the director's chair in 1912, though he still continued to act in many of his films and throughout his career.

This union ended in 1932 after she claimed Ince damaged her career by not allowing her to accept certain job offers.