She followed in her father's footsteps and took to the stage, performing in plays around the D.C. area and eventually winning parts on Broadway.

[3] She eventually began appearing in silent films in the 1910s, rising to leading lady status by the 1920s when she won the lead role in 1922's The Masquerader.

After marrying Irving Cummings (who she had worked with on films like 1917's A Man's Law), she became Ruth Cummings and began writing titles at MGM.

[4] She worked at MGM for many years, and she once told a reporter that she got most of her ideas while drinking chocolate sodas.

She remained married to Cummings until his death in 1959, and she died on December 6, 1984, in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the neighborhood of Woodland Hills.