Born Vivian Ruth Andersen in San Francisco, California, she was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants Edward Andersen and Anna Marthine Olsen. Her siblings' names were Edward, Herbert (née Hagbart), and Edna. She was one half of the vaudeville team "The Oakland Sisters" with her younger sister
Edna, who later performed in motion pictures as Dagmar Oakland. After the
1906 San Francisco earthquake, Anna Andersen, a widow since 1898, moved the family to
Oakland, California. In 1917, she married actor
John T. Murray (1886–1957). Oakland performed on Broadway and with the
Ziegfeld Follies. ==Career==