When she was 10, her father, Cox Mendenhall, moved his family from
their failing Iowa farm to Pasadena, California, where he became a
successful car dealer.
She was still known as "Rachelle Germano" (from her brief first
marriage) when she entered a "Gateway to Hollywood" star search in 1939
sponsored by Jesse L. Lasky of RKO Studios. While she won the regional
competition, she lost in the finals, but was given an RKO contract,
anyway. The studio also gave her a new name.
As a teenager, got her dramatic training at the Pasadena Playhouse and
worked in stock theater.