The playwright was born in New Orleans and studied at Columbia and New York University. She was romantically involved with mystery writer Dasheill Hammett and was the inspiration for his Nora Charles in The Thin Man. A longtime friend of Dorothy Parker, Hellman was the first woman nominated for an Original Screenplay Academy Award for Julia (in which Parker is portrayed). Among her plays are The Children's Hour, The Little Foxes and Toys in the Attic. Linked with left-wing causes, she was blacklisted in Hollywood from the late 1940s until 1960 and, with Hammet, was named as a member of the Communist Party in 1952 by the House Un-American Affairs Committee. She insisted she was never a member. Before World War II she served on the Keep America Out of War Committee.

Return to Resource Library Home Page

Revised May 2009
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.