 Through her uncle Robert Carlisle, who was a film editor and producer, she learned of a casting call at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.Carlisle's uncle, who lived in California, gave Carlisle the opportunity to appear in the Jackie Coogan silent movie "Long Live the King" in 1923, a performance for which she was uncredited.Carlisle was discovered by studio executive Carl Laemmle Jr. at the age of 14 while she was eating lunch with her mother at the Universal Studios canteen.