The American actress's first important screen appearance was in Howard Hughes' Hell's Angels, in 1930.
From then, the 'Platinum Blonde' became the public's favourite comic vamp who was the first blond actress to be given 'femme fatale' roles usually entrusted to exotic brunettes. Critics disdained her acting skills and only promoted her seductive looks and it was only from 1932 that she was finally considered a talented actress, after signing with MGM that offered her more complex roles. Oppressed by an ultra-religious and invading mother, 'Baby' researched within all her love affairs the figure of her absent father and developed a childish naïve personality that led to her premature death.