Born Dorothy Dell Goff in Hattiesburg, Mississippi to entertainers, she spent much of her childhood in New Orleans, Louisiana. She began entering and winning beauty pageants and at the age of fifteen won the title of "Miss New Orleans". With this success she established a successful vaudeville act.

In 1931 she moved to New York to appear on Broadway in the Ziegfeld Follies, and followed this success with her role in the production of Tattle Tales in 1933. During this time she was closely associated with Russ Colombo and her celebrity status was elevated by the media attention she received while denying rumours of an impending marriage.

She moved to Hollywood in 1933 and was signed to a contract by Paramount Studios. She won her first film role over such established contenders as Mae Clarke and Isabel Jewell and made her debut in Wharf Angel (1934). The film was a success and the reviews for Dell were favourable; Paramount began to consider her as a potential star. Her most important and substantial role followed in the Shirley Temple film Little Miss Marker.

Her next film Shoot the Works led to comparisons with Mae West, and her rendition of the ballad "With My Eyes Wide Open, I'm Dreaming" in the film became a hit record. Paramount scheduled her to play opposite Gary Cooper and Shirley Temple in Now and Forever in what was to have been her first major starring role as a romantic lead.

In 1934 she attended a party in Altadena, California with Dr Carl Wagner, to whom she was reported to have become engaged. On their way to Pasadena their vehicle was involved in an accident. Dell was killed instantly and Wagner died several hours later.

Dorothy Dell was interred in Metairie Cemetery, in New Orleans, Louisiana.