Gould was a stage performer in the 1910s and 1920s,[2][3][4] appearing on vaudeville bills across the United States,[5][6][7] and in plays, including Maid in America (1916).

[10] She toured in France for eighteen months with the Over There League of the YMCA, entertaining American troops during World War I,[11] and afterwards at veterans' hospitals and events in the United States.

"[16] Gould's film career began in her forties, with roles in Kiss and Make-Up (1934), Girls' Dormitory (1936), He Couldn't Say No (1938), Red Barry (1938), So's Your Uncle (1943), South of Dixie (1944), Her Lucky Night (1945), The Vicious Circle (1948), and The Big Combo (1955).

[21] In 1940, while living in Hollywood, Gould began making and selling crocheted hats and turbans "in unusual styles", sometimes with matching accessories.

In 1930 she was involved in a scandal when fellow performer Natalie Chadwick accused Gould of stealing the affections of criminal Joseph Sheldon.