When Nolan left the play, Woods sent her back to Hollywood, getting her a contract with Universal Pictures. She continued to move back and forth between movies and theater throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Her most prominent film appearance was in the 1938 version of Holiday, where she played alongside Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Her subsequent film roles went downhill, but she reinvigorated her Broadway career with an 18-month stint in The Doughgirls, a popular comedy about the difficulties of life during World War II. Her final Broadway appearance was in The Closing Door, alongside her husband, who had also written the play. It got poor reviews and closed after just a few weeks.
Nolan was the daughter of Frank J. Nolan, whose Business was importing woolen goods. Her entry into dramatics came when she was in high school in New Rochelle, New York. After graduation, she joined the Provincetown Players in 1933, working as the director's secretary to pay her tuition. The following summer, she joined the Clinton Hollow Theatre in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her acting as the female lead in The Late Christopher Bean there was seen by a talent scout, and that led to her getting a contract with Fox Studios.
Nolan married Canadian actor Alexander Knox in a civil ceremony on December 30, 1944. The judge presiding over the wedding almost mistakenly pronounced her married to Knox's best man, but they stopped him and redid the vows. Knox's political activity caused him trouble during the Hollywood blacklist, and the couple moved to Britain so he could continue working. She stayed in Britain after his death in 1995, until her own death on July 29, 1998.
After moving to Britain in the early 1950s, Nolan worked in regional stage productions and took guest parts on television series. Her final television appearance was in an episode of ITV's Brideshead Revisited serial in 1981.
She then switched to Broadway, where she achieved greater success. Although she was just 17, Nolan was cast as the female lead in Night of January 16th, which was being produced by her manager, Al Woods. She was very nervous about playing the part of an older femme fatale who was the mistress (and possibly murderer) of a rich businessman. Despite her jitters, the show was a success and Nolan got positive reviews.
