[8] Holmquist's enlistment by Paramount was prompted in part by the early retirement of Marguerite Clark, the only genuine rival to United Artists’ screen star Mary Pickford.

[9] In her American debut, Holmquiest was cast as a working-class girl in the romantic comedy Just Around the Corner (1921) in which she wins the devotion of a wealthy playboy.

After making two more box-office successes—My Old Kentucky Home (1922) and A Gentleman of Leisure (1923)—Paramount miscast Holmquist in an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Light That Failed (1923).

[10] Holmquist was repeatedly offered minor ingénue roles, but enjoyed performances in three successful 1925 comedies, two of which co-starred Johnny Hines: The Early Bird and The Crackerjack.

Film historian Hans J. Wollstein reports that she may have suffered from “Klieg eyes”, a debilitating occupational malady caused by the bright arc lamps used to illuminate movie sets.