 Her stage name was taken from the titles of two then famous European operettas – "Sari" and "Countess Maritza".Maritza entered films in 1930 and gained some notoriety for dancing a tango with Charles Chaplin at the premiere for his film "City Lights" in 1931.Although her behaviour was described as lurid, which was silly publicity, she attracted attention and was cast in several low budget, but relatively popular British films.