Nearly died from kidney failure in the 1940s. She also had debilitating eye problems from which she suffered the rest of her life until her sight was improved by Dr. Kenneth Grow, who eventually became her second husband.
Voted "Miss Hollywood" prior to entering movies.
Health problems, which lead to blindness, forced Ms. Austin into early retirement from the motion picture business. A Palm Springs CA physician, Dr. Ken Grow, managed to restore her sight and later they married.