She was a Canadian-born American actress whose successful show business career spanned almost 50 years. In the early part of her career, Dressler was a Broadway star, while her Hollywood career began in 1914 during the silent film era.
The height of her career was in the latter half of the 1920s and early 1930s, when she was one of Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer's most popular and highest-paid stars during the transition to sound. At that point, she became part of an iconic duo as the tart-tongued matron to Polly Moran's wisecracking spinster. However, Dressler is primarily remembered for her dramatic portrayal of Marthy, a poverty-stricken mother of a mentally disabled youth, in Min and Bill (1930), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Following a series of unsuccessful vehicles, Dressler's career waned. As a result, when she died of cancer a few months after her 65th birthday in 1934, her film career was largely behind her. Although her popularity is much diminished compared to other Hollywood actresses of her era, Dressler remains a respected and influential figure in film history.