Frances Gifford had a somewhat unorthodox introduction to the movie business. Born and raised in Long Beach, California, she had no ambition to be an actress, and in fact had applied to UCLA when, at age 16, she and a friend got to visit the Samuel Goldwyn Studios, where they watched a movie being shot. A studio exec saw her and asked if she would take a screen test. She did, the studio was impressed with the result and put her under contract. Nothing much came of it, however, other than bit parts, and she moved to RKO. Nothing much happened there, either. She had married actor James Dunn and decided to retire, which she did, in 1938. Off the screen for almost two years, she got a small part in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and her career began to revive. She was signed by Paramount, which soon loaned her to Republic, where she made the film she is probably most remembered for: the serial Jungle Girl (1941), based on an Edgar Rice Burroughs story.
Unfortunately, her career never really took off, and she bounced around among several studios. In 1948 she was involved in an auto accident in which she received severe head injuries. Although she seemed to recover physically, her career took a nosedive, and she made her last film in 1953. In 1958 newspaper stories reported that as a result of the injuries sustained in the accident, she was admitted to a California state mental hospital. Nothing further was heard from her or about her until 1983, when a writer for a film magazine found her in Pasadena. She had apparently fully overcome her physical and mental problems and was working for the city library. She died of emphysema in Pasadena in 1994.
2004
as Doris (archive sound)
1953
as Jo McWethy
1953
as Evelyn Crewes
1950
as Margaret Higgins
1948
as Laura Dene
1947
as Jean Tukker
1947
as Anne Parkson
1945
as Dr. Ann Wotters
1945
as Viola Johnson
1945
as Maude Bancroft
1944
as Sissy Mortimer
1944
as (archive footage)
1943
as Helen
1943
as Hilary Dane
1943
as Zandra
1942
as Abigail 'Abby' Taylor, Dan's Sister
1942
as Grace Saunders
1942
as Nurse
1942
as Charlotte (uncredited)
1942
as Ruth Grant
1942
as Frances Gifford (uncredited)
1942
as Miss Halsey
1941
as Nyoka Meredith
1941
as Daphne
1941
as Doris
1941
as Helen Forbes
1940
as Mary Mulvaney
1940
as Granville Girl
1939
as Brenda Gordon
1939
as Hopper Girl (uncredited)
1938
as Salesgirl (uncredited)
1938
as Ticket Seller - Octopus Concession (uncredited)
1938
as Nightclub Patron
1937
as Bus Passenger
1937
as Undetermined Role (uncredited)
1937
as Mary McGuire (uncredited)
1937
as Showgirl