Glenda Farrell began acting in the theater as a child. Her first major film role was in the gangster movie Little Caesar (1931) with Edward G. Robinson. In 1932, she became a Warner Bros. contract actor. She is perhaps best known for her role as Torchy Blane in the 1930s Warner Bros. film series, in which she appeared in seven Torchy Blane films. After leaving Warner Bros. in 1939, she continued to appear in numerous film, television and Broadway plays throughout the rest of her acting career. She won an Emmy Award in 1963 for best supporting actress for the television series Ben Casey.