Ruth Wilcox, born to James Wilcox, a Kentucky optometrist and drugstore owner, who was married six times, twice to one woman, and fathered six children from his first wife, including Ruth and her siblings, Fred McLeod Wilcox, a director, and Pansy Wilcox, a former showgirl married to Loew's Inc. President Nicholas M. Schenck, a pioneer in the film industry.
Ruth's early life was marked by her father's unconventional family dynamics, with him marrying six times and having six children from his first wife. Despite this, Ruth went on to lead a life of her own, marrying former playwright and movie producer-director-writer Edgar Selwyn, with whom she had a son, Rusty, who was born during her previous marriage to a man surnamed Snyder and was adopted by Edgar during their marriage.
Ruth's acting career began at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she was a contract player and made her film debut in Marion Davies' "Five and Ten" (1931) in an uncredited role, followed by a credited appearance in "Polly of the Circus" (1932). Her most notable role was as Pansy Peet in "Speak Easily" (1933),where she supported Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante and received third-billing.
Ruth's filmography is limited, with only two movies made after "Men Must Fight" (1933),retiring after Raoul Walsh's "Baby Face Harrington" (1935),which was produced by her husband, Edgar Selwyn.
