Forrest began her film career in the 1940s as a chorus Dancer in MGM musicals. She made her acting debut in Not Wanted (1949), written and produced by Ida Lupino. The film's controversial subject of unwed motherhood was a raw and unsentimental view of a condition that was rarely explored by Hollywood at that time. Forrest starred in two more Lupino projects, Never Fear (1949) and Hard, Fast and Beautiful (1951), as well as other film noir films, including Mystery Street (1950), directed by John Sturges, and the star-studded While the City Sleeps (1956), directed by Fritz Lang. Her musical background and training as a jazz and ballet Dancer brought roles in the transitional musicals that rounded off the golden age of MGM; most notable was Excuse My Dust (1951).
In 1953, after moving to New York with her husband, Writer and Producer Milo Frank (who was hired to be head of casting for CBS), her film work transitioned to theatre and TV. She starred on Broadway in The Seven Year Itch, and appeared in major stage productions of Damn Yankees, Bus Stop, As You Like It and No No Nanette. Later she returned to Hollywood and continued working at RKO and Columbia Pictures. Her final film was RKO's While the City Sleeps in 1956, a murder mystery co-starring Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, Vincent Price and her frequent collaborator Ida Lupino.
Most of her films were made under contract to MGM, which prided itself as family entertainment, but RKO, headed by the eccentric and controlling Howard Hughes, presented a very different creative challenge. Son of Sinbad (1955), now a cult classic, was one of his many pet projects where he had a personal interest in re-designing the star's skimpy wardrobe. With each rehearsal, Forrest noticed her harem dance costume slowly disappearing, until it was barely compliant with the Motion Picture Production Code.
Forrest, a widow since 2004, died of cancer on March 15, 2015, aged 86, at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was survived by her niece, Sharon Durham, and nephews, Michael and Mark Feeney.
