An early vaudeville actress, Betty Compson was "discovered" by Al Christie in 1915 while working the Pantages circuit. When he left Nestor Studios to start his own, Christie took Compson with him, where she continued to work in his Christie comedies.
Compson worked steadily throughout the twenties, working with directors including Josef von Sternberg in Docks of New York. In 1923, Compson made a British film, Woman to Woman, which brought together three future filmmakers early in their careers: Michael Balon and Victor Saville, producers, and Alfred Hitchcock, art director. She made a few early talkies, but quit making films in 1930. Later she made one final film, 1948's Here Comes Trouble.