Beginning at age 11, she worked as a model, and as a sophomore in high school she switched to night classes so that she could model during the day. She appeared in advertisements that were published nationally, and she had the most-photographed hands and legs in New York. When a film executive saw her image on a billboard, that led the way to her work in motion pictures.
Godfrey was featured on both radio and television programs in Britain. She initially entered films at RKO, working as Renee Haal, and made her debut in Sam Wood’s Kitty Foyle (1940). Also in 1940, Her work in Unexpected Uncle resulted in her signing a long-term contract with RKO early in 1942. She began working as Renee Godfrey in Up in Arms (1944).
During World War II, she and her husband Peter Godfrey entertained troops with amateur magic shows that they put on through the USO. She continued working in small roles, such as Vivian Vedder in Terror by Night (1946) and Mrs. Stebbins in Stanley Kramer’s Inherit the Wind. She worked into the 1960s, appearing in Can-Can and Tender Is the Night.
For the most part, however, Godfrey was out of view. Her director-husband, who had flourished on 1950s TV, was in ill health by the end of the decade. Taking secretarial and real estate classes to help support the family income, Godfrey tried making a comeback of sorts, finding bit roles in the films. She was also a guest player on such shows as Perry Mason, Hazel, The Donna Reed Show and Wagon Train.
She died in Los Angeles, California, on 24 May 1964 from the effects of cancer. She was 44 years old. Her final performance, in the film Those Calloways, was released posthumously.
