She developed a drinking problem in the early 1970s following the death
of her third husband and became a recluse.
The highest-paid actress in England during the 1930s, she suffered from
camera fright.
Britain's answer to Jean Harlow was dubbed the "Aluminum Blonde" during her
peak; however, she turned into a redhead when she returned to films in
the post-war years.
Reared and stage-trained in South Africa, this statuesque blonde appeared in several UK films of the early 1930s before going to Hollywood, where she performed in a number of films of the 1930s, '40s and '50s.
Married three times, she had no children.
Spent her childhood in South Africa where she was educated at Ladies College Durban. She first appeared on stage there in 1926 with a touring company under Dennis Neilson-Terry and accompanied them to London the following year. She made her film debut in 1929.