[5] Darrin was born to Louis and Rose Paskowitz, the New York-born off-spring of Jewish emigrants from Russia, who lived in Galveston, Texas.

This led Darrin to be interviewed by LeRoy Prinz, the dancing director at Warner Brothers, leading to a small role in The Hard Way (1943).

Notwithstanding several scenes in which Agnes trades quips with Humphrey Bogart's character, Darrin received no onscreen credit for her work in The Big Sleep; this despite the fact that she had already been credited by The New York Times in a captioned promotional photo published five days before the film's opening,[7][8] and had been the guest of honor at a promotional event held on August 14 at the Pelham Heath Inn in the Bronx,[9] (presumably organized by her agent Arthur Pine,[10] who also represented the venue).

[a] Several years later, Darrin did finally receive an onscreen credit for her signature performance, when she recreated the role of Agnes in a television adaptation which aired on September 25, 1950, on Robert Montgomery Presents.

[3] Darrin's final two public appearances were on The Mike Douglas Show in the 1970s (as Sonia Reese),[16] and in a documentary film about her brother, Dorian, in 2007.