She was born Dorothy Jane dearing on April 17, 1913 in Parachute, Colorado. When she was a child her family moved to Alhambra, California. Sadly her father, Erdix Dearing, died in 1925. To help her mother pay the bills she started working as a dance instructor when she was a teenager. Dorothy moved to Los Angeles and made her film debut in the 1933 musical Dancing Lady. She also worked as a secretary and danced in Busby Berkeley's stage show. Then in 1935 she landed a contract at Fox. The pretty blonde appeared in dozens of films including Up The River, Alexander's Ragtime Band, Hotel For Women, and Moon Over Miami. Unfortunately almost all of her roles were uncredited bit parts.
During the 1930s she dated writer Curly Harris and was briefly married. In her spare time she enjoyed playing golf and tennis. After making the 1942 drama Thunder Birds: Soldiers Of The Air she decided to quit acting. Then she started her own business as an importer and exporter. On August 12, 1946 she married actor Roland Drew. Their son Damon was born in 1947. Dorothy appeared to have a happy home life but she continued to struggled with alcoholism. As she grew older her health began to deteriorate. Sadly on April 19, 1965 she died from "acute alcoholism" at the age of fifty-two. She was buried at Valhalla Memorial Park in North Hollywood, California.