Gwili Andre came to Hollywood in the early 1930s with the intention of establishing herself as a film star after working for several years as a model in Europe and New York. She was reportedly spotted by David O. Selznick at the premiere of a Broadway show. Selznick was taken by her beauty, and he arranged for a screen test.

She was signed to RKO Studio, and in 1932 appeared in Roar of the Dragon and Secrets of the French Police. While her striking looks were likened to that of Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, her acting garnered poor reviews. One newspaper columnist called her a “stiff, colorless and completely talentless performer.” Despite the poor reviews of her acting, RKO began using her glamorous looks to promote her career. A widespread publicity campaign ensured that her name and face became well known to the American public, but her next role in No Other Woman (1933), opposite Irene Dunne, was not the success the studio expected. Over the next few years, she was relegated to supporting roles which included a role in the Joan Crawford picture A Woman’s Face (1941).

On 5 February 1959, Andre died in a fire that started in her apartment in Venice, California where she lived alone. The cause was never determined.