Coad moved to Los Angeles at the same time in 1926 that
Metro Goldwyn Mayer was searching for a "million dollar baby". She won the contest conducted by the
Los Angeles Evening Express. She also received a contract to perform on radio station
KNX in Hollywood. Her programs included recitations, songs, and stories. She performed the role of
Pearl in
The Scarlet Letter (1926), a film which featured
Lillian Gish.
Louis B. Mayer chose
Victor Seastrom to direct the movie.
Drums of Love (1928), directed by
D.W. Griffith, is set in the middle of the nineteenth century in
South America. Coad appeared in the role of the little sister in a screen production which starred
Lionel Barrymore,
Don Alvarado, and
Tully Marshall. For some reason, there was a break in her films from 1928 to 1931, after which the number of her film appearances declined. She played the role of
Elsa The German Milkmaid in
Captured! (1933). In June 1937 Coad was cast in
The Deerslayer, which was being filmed by Standard Pictures. She was twenty years old. ==Death==