Gloria Hallward had some acting lessons from her mum, Jean Grahame. Jean was a teacher and stage actress. The talented actress had already started professional acting as of the time she was in high school. Then, one of the big moments in her life and career came in 1944 when she met Louis B. May on Broadway. He handed her an MGM contract with her name written on it.
Gloria had her debut when she played a role in Blonde Fever (1944) while her first public outing was on a loan-out in It's a Wonderful Life, which was released in 1946. Unfortunately, she was not suitable for the star pattern at MGM; consequently, her contract was sold out in 1947 to RKO. She had a similar experience in 1950 in the movie, In a Lonely Place. So, she left RKO after that.
Fortunately for her, the 1950s turned out to be her best period in her career. She won the supporting actress Oscar award. During this period, she had a few setbacks in her career. It was rumored on the set of Oklahoma in 1955 that she was a tough person to work with. Because of this, she was sidelined in her movie career from 1956. She had other issues outside her career setback. She was involved in marital and child-custody problems.
She got married to Anthony Ray who was her ex-stepson eight years after she divorced Nicholas Ray. Before then, she was married to Cy Howard, but their union ended in a divorce. As a result of all these complications, the former Gloria Grahame spouse Nicholas Ray and CY Howard had to sue themselves for the custody of their kids with Grahame.
