Bonnie Bannon was the daughter of Walter A. and Juanita (Strong) Bannon and was born in Tulare County, California. After graduating from Fresno High School, she went to work for a local Warner Bros. theater and soon entered a Warner Bros. beauty contest, where she won a contract with the studio. She went on to work for other studios and in many of Busby Berkeley's films. Her sisters Eunice Bannon and Dorothy Bannon also worked in the movies, the former as a "fancy dress extra" and the latter in TV work, mainly the Zorro (1957) series. The family has a collection of her studio photos and magazine and newspaper articles about her career. She first married Alice Faye's brother, Charles, in Tijuana, Mexico, and divorced him two years later. She was married twice more before marrying William Jones, a businessman, in 1953. The best man and maid of honor were Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Arcaro (the jockey), friends of the groom. Bonnie had one child, a son named Fred Martin, from her second marriage.