Her striking, angular features and dark curly hair led her to being cast as an ethnic character, such as a Latina, Middle Easterner, American Indian, or Gypsy. She is perhaps best known for playing the American Indian maid of Bette Davis in Beyond the Forest. She also appeared as the Arab girl Mihirmah, opposite Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in Road to Morocco in 1942. In 1944 she appeared as a lead role as a big band singer in a B-movie titled Hot Rhythm, which also featured Irene Ryan (Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies) as a ditsy secretary.
