When he was only 13 years old, his father passed away and the rest of his family decided to move to the city of Los Angeles. At first the young Myrna studied dance and later began her artistic career, acting in various plays.
She would soon be discovered on stage by Rodolfo Valentino, an eminence within the world of Silent movie.
Due to her special physical characteristics, considered exotic, the young woman was selected to give life to particular characters and that is why she appeared in films such as Ben Hur, Don Juan and in De carbonero a gran señor.
Turned into an actress, Myrna had no problems, quickly accepting and overcoming the transition from silent to talkies. She was one of the few who had the opportunity to appear in the first talking movie in history, the 1927 film The jazz singer, directed by Alan Crosland.
The following decade she would put aside her image as a vampire and go on to become the ideal wife with the production The thin man. During these years, he appeared in A Yankee in the Court of King Arthur, Emma, Love me tonight and in the mask of Fu-Manchu.
But his most memorable performance is the one he did in The Dinner for the Accused in 1934, where he worked alongside William Powell.
Being Powell’s partner in fiction, they became favorites of the public and they had the opportunity to continue acting together in other productions such as Ella, he and Asta, Another meeting of the accused, Shadow of the thin man and in others.
In love, Myrna was not so lucky, she was married several times and with neither of her husbands she was able to achieve a lasting marriage.
Her first husband was Arthur Hornblow Jr, a producer whom she married in 1937, divorcing 5 years later. Months later he remarried John Hertz Jr. and in 1944 they divorced. Two years later she married the screenwriter Gene Markey, which ended in 1950.
Known as “The Queen of Hollywood” in the 1930s, his work continued with the same success and appears in Strictly Confidential, Between Wife and Secretary, Check the King and Man Proof, among many others.
The next decade slowed his work a bit and was in I love you again, My husband is crazy, The bachelor and the youngest, The red pony and a few more.
A year after her last divorce, she married again with Howland H. SergeantThis union was one of the longest lasting for the actress, but in 1960 she decided to divorce and never remarried.
Over the years his job opportunities diminished and he began to appear in few film productions, giving greater importance to acting on the small screen.
He carried out activities in favor of various humanitarian causes at the UN, had a certain political and social presence and in 1990, he was awarded an Oscar award in honor of his long artistic career.
The December 14, 1993 passed away at the age of 88 in New York City.