Dale was born in
North Carolina. She was the daughter of Lula Helms Paxton, and she graduated from
Central High School in Charlotte. Dale began learning
toe dancing when she was 9 years old. When she was an adult, she recalled, "I slaved and slaved at it, hating every minute. I tried everything I could think of to get out of it." That exit occurred when blood poisoning in one of her feet required grafting lamb's skin over the top of the foot. The resulting reduction in the foot's ability to stretch ended her toe dancing. While they were in New York City, Dale was discovered by
Darryl F. Zanuck who signed her to a contract with
20th Century Fox. and she became particularly associated with musicals. In the 1950s, she worked mainly in television series such as
The Adventures of Kit Carson (1951–1952),
Highway Patrol (1957), and
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp (1957–1958). She left the movie business in 1958, but returned to acting for a few films in the 1980s. On Broadway, Dale performed in
Him (1928) and
The Final Balance (1928). ==Death==