Zelma Hedin made a success in the French salon comedies, a very popular and fashionable genre of the time, in which she was seen as the successor of Emilie Högquist, and she gradually replaced Charlotta Almlöf in coquette roles. According to a critic, while Charlotta Almlöf had always been shallow and superficial in seduction scenes, for Hedin "...flirtatiousness seemed to me to be a profession". She was famed for the elegance of her costume which was called "truly Parisian", was said to have "a grande and beautiful figure", and critics claimed that she attracted attention more for her appearance than for her ability and characterized her popular romantic roles as a "hallow declamation". She was however recognized as "an excellent utility, en rare representative of the socialite ladies of the finer French comedy, a terrific grisette and soubrette..."Zelma C E Hedin, urn:sbl:12737, Svenskt biografiskt lexikon (art av Claes Hoogland), hämtad 2018-06-17. and as a singer well suited for vaudeville.
