[2][3] According to a 1915 article in The Day Book, Donnelly was forced to leave Sacred Heart Convent in New Jersey because she repeatedly laughed at inappropriate times.

[1] Actress Rose Stahl mentored Donnelly, and after training her with a year of experience in the chorus, placed her in the play Maggie Pepper.

[4] Her Broadway debut brought her to the attention of George M. Cohan, who proceeded to cast her in numerous comic-relief roles in musicals such as Going Up (1917).

In her films, she often played the wife of Guy Kibbee (Footlight Parade, Wonder Bar, Merry Wives of Reno, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington).

Years after her final film role, she returned to the stage as an understudy to Patsy Kelly in the Broadway revival of No No Nanette, and later she appeared in the touring production with Don Ameche and Evelyn Keyes.