BIO

Miriam Hopkins was born Ellen Miriam Hopkins in Savannah, Georgia, in 1902 and raised in Bainbridge, Georgia.   She attended a finishing school in Vermont followed by Syracuse University.

In 1921, at the age of 19, she made her Broadway debut as a chorus girl in a musical revue.   Hopkins continued to appear on the New York City stage in 17 productions through 1957.

She made her film debut at the age of 26 starring in a short-reel for Paramount Pictures in 1928.   Although she was a lead in the hit play Excess Baggage (1927-1928), Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer elected not to include original cast members in the movie it released that year based on the play.

Paramount Pictures signed her in 1929 and she co-starred in her first feature film in 1930.

Hopkins received an Actress Academy Award nomination for her role in Becky Sharp (1935).

She appeared in more than 35 feature films through 1970.

In the 1950s and 1960s, Hopkins appeared primarily in television guest roles.

She was married four times:

1. Brandon Peters, stage actor, (m. 1926-1927), divorced;
2. Austin Parker (1892-1938), screenwriter, (m. 1928-1931), divorced;
3. Anatole Litvak (1902-1974), producer/director/writer, (m. 1937-1939), divorced;
4. Raymond Brock, news correspondent, 1945-1951, divorced.

She adopted a child after her second marriage.

Hopkins died of a heart attack in New York City, in 1972, after attending a benefit in her honor.   She was 71 years old.

Additional Broadway stage history is available at:

Additional biographical information is available at:

NOTED FILMS

Complete filmography at: