Born in
Montgomery, Alabama, Dunbar grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. She began studying dancing as a child and went on to sing and dance in nightclubs. She also performed in that show on Broadway in 1934-35 and the Broadway productions of
Yokel Boy (1939–40) and ''George White's Scandals'' (1934). Dunbar's film debut also came in ''George White's Scandals'' (1934). During the 1930s she appeared in a number of
Twentieth Century Fox films, including two
Jones Family films. After she left Broadway and films, she returned to nightclubs, performing for a while before she retired. In the early 1950s, she performed in television commercials for
Old Gold cigarettes, dancing enclosed in a representation of a cigarette pack with only her legs visible. ==Personal life and death==