In the early 1930s Hollywood was on the lookout for new stars following the conversion from silent film to sound pictures. Stuart got her break at this time, signing with Universal Pictures. She was one of the first Scream Queens, playing the female lead in horror films such as The Old Dark House (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933). She was also paired with Shirley Temple in several pictures, playing young guardian figures.
Over the course of the 1940s Stuart found herself less satisfied with the roles she was getting. After making one last picture in 1946, she retired from the movies to concentrate on her family and her art career, creating decoupage, paintings, and serigraphy. She returned to acting in both film and television in the 1970s. She would continue acting for about another three decades. Perhaps her greatest triumph came with her role as Rose Dawson Calvert in Titanic (1997). Both she and Kate Winslet received Academy Award nominations for playing the same character.
Stuart died in 2010, several weeks after becoming a centenarian. She had been married twice: to Blair Gordon Newell from 1930 to 1934 and to critic/playwright/screenwriter Arthur Sheekman from 1934 until his death in 1978. Her daughter with Sheekman, Sylvia Vaughn Thompson, is a noted food writer and chef.
Selected filmography:
Film
- 1932 The Old Dark House: Margaret Waverton
- 1933 The Invisible Man: Flora Cranley
- 1934 Here Comes the Navy: Dorothy Martin
- 1935 Gold Diggers of 1935: Ann Prentiss
- 1938 Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm: Gwen Warren
- 1975 The Legend of Lizzie Borden: Store Customer (Made-for-TV Movie)note
- 1982 My Favorite Year: Mrs. Anne Horn
- 1997 Titanic: Rose Dawson Calvert
Television
- 1975 The Waltons: Saleswoman (1 episode)
- 1983 Manimal: Bag Lady (1 episode)
- 1987 Murder, She Wrote: Edna Jarvis (1 episode)
- 2001 The Invisible Man: Madeline Fawkes (1 episode)
- 2001 Touched by an Angel: Grams (1 episode)
- 2002-03 General Hospital: Catherine Flynn (2 episodes)
- 2003 Miracles: Rosanna Wye (1 episode)
