Myrtle Gonzalez was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 28, 1891, to Manuel George Gonzalez, whose family belonged to the Hispanic Californio community that settled in California before U.S. control, and Lillian L. Cook, an accomplished singer of Irish descent.

From childhood, she showed significant dramatic ability and possessed a lovely soprano voice, performing frequently at church and in local concerts. She began her acting career on stage, appearing in juvenile roles alongside acclaimed actresses like Fanny Davenport and Florence Stone.

Her transition into silent film coincided with Hollywood’s emergence as a center for movie production, benefiting her career due to her Los Angeles roots. She made her film debut with Vitagraph Company of America and quickly rose to prominence in the silent era, starring in at least 78 films—including 66 one- and two-reel shorts—from 1913 to 1917.

Her most noted performance was as Enid Maitland in the six-reel feature drama "The Chalice of Courage" (1915) alongside William Duncan, and she often portrayed robust, outdoorsy heroines, which required her to adapt even to filming in harsh conditions.

Her personal life included marriage to J. Parks Jones in 1910, with whom she had a son, James Parks Jones Jr., but they divorced in 1914. In December 1917, she married Universal actor and director Allen Watt, and subsequently retired from screen work.

During World War I, Watt was stationed at Camp Lewis in Washington, but her frail health necessitated their return to Southern California. Gonzalez’s promising career and life were tragically cut short when she died at the age of 27 during the Spanish flu pandemic on October 22, 1918, at her family’s home in Los Angeles.