Rose Doner, born Rose Irene Donohoe in 1905, was youngest daughter of vaudeville team Joe and Nellie Doner and sister of entertainers Kitty and Ted Doner. Rose trained as a dancer from a young age, and made her first professional appearence on stage in 1920. In 1925, she traveled to California with her sister Kitty and brother Ted to perform in the West coast production of the Gershwin musical, Lady Be Good. While in Los Angeles, she reported appeared in two films; one may have been the Howard Hughes funded Swell Hogan.