Rich first appeared in motion pictures as an extra in 1918 and later played opposite such stars as Lon Chaney, Ronald Colman, and Warner Baxter; she played the wife of Will Rogers in seven films, including They Had to See Paris (1929). She performed on radio for more than a decade in the Irene Rich Dramas, of which the most popular were “Dear John” and “Glorious One.” She returned to motion pictures during the late 1930s, usually portraying a mother. Her film credits include Jes' Call Me Jim (1920), The Champ (1931), and Angel and the Badman (1947); her last two films were Fort Apache and Joan of Arc (both 1948). After appearing on Broadway in As the Girls Go (1948–50), Rich retired from show business.