Like many other young women, she started out in the chorus in musical comedy productions, finally performing as a single character in a program in San Francisco in 1903. From there she went to New York, appeared as Rosella Peppercorn in "The Billionaire" which starred Jerome Sykes and as Nancy Lowly in "The Girl From Kays". She caught the eye of Frohman, who saw in her distinct possibilities for stardom and cast her as Lady Millicent in James M. Barrie's "Little Mary", which opened at the Empire Theater on January 4, 1904. Later that year the legendary Mrs. G. H. Gilbert—who with John Drew, Ada Rehan and James Lewis had been one of Augustin Daly's "Big 4," but who had spent decades supporting bigger stars—was finally given a starring vehicle of her own, Clyde Fitch's "Granny". It was to be Mrs. Gilbert's farewell tour, with Marie playing Dora, the ingenue. And a farewell tour it was. The play was well received in New York but, four days after its Chicago opening, on December 2, 1904, Mrs. Gilbert died at the age of 83.