By the time she was just 3 years old she was appearing in her first film, Brother Bob's Baby in 1911. In 1912 she appeared in eleven films, and in 1913, that number increased to twenty two. At age six she lost her two front teeth and "retired" until new ones could appear. She never went back. She ended up with 103 credits to her name earning her the title "Thanhouser Kidlet" after the movie studio Thanhouser located in New York City which burned down. Her father was Gerald Badgely, expert mechanic and electrician at the studio where he perfected the Vista moving picture recorder.
