Davenport's first film was
Kid Millions (1934). After that, however, she said, "It looked as if my career had begun and ended all at once." Over a span of approximately four years she applied her acting abilities on radio and in little theater. From 1934 to 1939, she appeared in five films and worked in New York City as a model between films. When she was interviewed under the screen name Doris Jordan for the role of
Scarlett O'Hara for
Gone with the Wind, she received a short-term contract with Warner Bros. She did well enough to become one of the finalists for the role. Despite not winning that major role, Davenport impressed studio head
Samuel Goldwyn. In 1940, he gave a lead role to Davenport in the film
The Westerner, starring opposite
Gary Cooper and
Walter Brennan. The same year, she starred in the movie
Behind the News opposite
Lloyd Nolan. It was her last role. Shortly after she completed
The Westerner she was in a car accident in which her legs were crushed, which required her to walk with a cane the rest of her life and she retired from acting. == Personal life and death ==