An accomplished and popular stage actress in New York and London, Collier made her film debut in D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance" (1916). She went on to offer a numer of fine silent performances (e.g., Lady MacBeth in "MacBeth" 1916), and made the transition to sound, appearing infrequently throughout the 1930s and 40s. Generally cast as upper-crust women, she graced such features as "Little Lord Fauntleroy" (1936), "Stage Door" (1937, as a drama coach) and "Rope" (1948).