
Griffith was born in Texarkana, Texas to John Lewis Griffin and Ambolina (Ambolyn) Ghio. She attended Sacred Heart Convent school in New Orleans and worked as a dancer before she began her acting career. Griffith began her screen career at the Vitagraph Studios in 1916. She later moved to First National, where she became one of their most popular stars. In 1928, she had the starring role in The Garden of Eden. The next year, in 1929, Griffith received an Academy Award nomination for her role in The Divine Lady. Griffith's first sound film, Lilies of the Field, was released in 1930. Griffith's voice did not record well (The New York Times stated that she "talked through her nose"), and the film was a box office flop. After appearing in one more motion picture, the British film Lily Christine in 1932, she retired from acting. She returned to the screen in 1962 in the low-budget melodrama Paradise Alley, which received scant release.

Three Hours
1927 · as Madeline Durkin

The Climbers
1919 · as Blanche Sterling

Lilies of the Field
1924 · as Mildred Harker

Moral Fibre
1921 · as Marion Wolcott

Thin Ice
1919 · as Alice Winton

Infatuation
1925 · as Violet Bancroft

Single Wives
1924 · as Betty Jordan

Classified
1925 · as Babs Comet

Lily Christine
1932 · as Lily Christine Summerset

Paradise Alley
1962 · as Mrs. Wilson

The Menace
1918 · as Virginia Denton

Deadline at Eleven
1920 · as Helen Stevens

The Love Doctor
1917 · as Blanche Hildreth

The Tower of Jewels
1919 · as Emily Cottrell

Love's Wilderness
1924 · as Linda Lou Heath

The Garden of Eden
1928 · as Toni LeBrun

Babs
1920 · as Barbara Marvin

Love Watches
1918 · as Jacqueline Cartaret