Matteson began her acting career in San Francisco with the Henry Duffy Players.
[2] Her role in George Abbott's production of the comedy What a Life led to a regular spot on The Aldrich Family, a radio program based on the play.
Her only feature film role was in 1938's The Birth of a Baby, directed by Al Christie.
Her final television role was on The Edge of Night from 1962 to 1963, and her last Broadway appearance was in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park in 1965.
They later divorced and she married Curt Peterson, an executive with the McCann Erickson advertising agency.