Gained fame for her portrayal of an adventurous young woman in the
"Hazards of Helen" serials, a series of films in which railroads played
a great part (she was either jumping onto, off, running across the tops
of, or escaping from railroad cars, locomotives, train stations, etc.).
By coincidence, when she was growing up in Chicago her father was an
employee of the Illinois Central Railroad. The films were directed by
her then-husband,
J.P. McGowan. Also by coincidence, when
McGowan was growing up in Australia his father, who had immigrated from Scotland, worked for the South Australian and later the New South Wales Railways.
