Editing Miriam Hopkins

{{Short description|American film and TV actress (1902–1972)}}
{{for|the Irish Olympic swimmer|Miriam Hopkins (swimmer)}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Miriam Hopkins
| image              = MiriamHopkins.jpg
| caption            = Hopkins in the 1930s
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1902|10|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place        = [[Savannah, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1972|10|9|1902|10|18|mf=y}}
| death_place        = New York City, U.S.
| years active       = 1921&ndash;1970
| occupation         = Actress
| birth_name         = Ellen Miriam Hopkins
| party              = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
*Brandon Peters (1926&ndash;1927)
*Austin Parker (1928&ndash;1931)
*[[Anatole Litvak]] (1937&ndash;1939)
*Raymond B. Brock (1945&ndash;1951)}}
| children           = 1
}}

'''Ellen Miriam Hopkins''' (October 18, 1902 – October 9, 1972) was an American actress known for her versatility.<ref>Obituary ''[[Variety Obituaries|Variety]]'', October 11, 1972, p. 71.</ref> She signed with [[Paramount Pictures]] in 1930.

She portrayed a pickpocket in [[Ernst Lubitsch]]'s romantic comedy ''[[Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)|Trouble in Paradise]]'', a bar singer Ivy in [[Rouben Mamoulian]]'s ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'', and the titular character in the controversial drama ''[[The Story of Temple Drake]]''. She received a nomination for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]] for the 1935 film ''[[Becky Sharp (film)|Becky Sharp]]'', becoming the first performer nominated for a color picture. She was nominated for a [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture|Golden Globe]] for ''[[The Heiress (1949 film)|The Heiress]]''. She co-starred with [[Joel McCrea]] in five films.

Her long-running feud with actress [[Bette Davis]] was publicized for effect. Hopkins later became a pioneer of TV drama. She was considered a distinguished hostess in Hollywood and moved in intellectual and creative circles.

==Early life==
Hopkins was born in [[Savannah, Georgia]], to Homer Hopkins and Ellen Cutler.<ref>Virginia, Marriage Records 1936–2014</ref> Her early childhood home was located at 321 Whitaker St (since demolished).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://7063.sydneyplus.com/archive/final/Portal/Default.aspx?component=AABC&record=47534b0f-f314-4502-a854-8d7fa03f7dc1|title=GHS 1360 Cordray-Foltz Photography Studio photographs, Georgia Historical Society|publisher=georgiahistory.com|access-date=March 2, 2023}}</ref> She was raised in [[Bainbridge, Georgia|Bainbridge]], near the Alabama border. She had an older sister, Ruby (1900–1990).<ref>1910 United States Federal Census</ref> Her maternal great-grandfather, the fourth mayor of Bainbridge, had helped establish St. John's Episcopal Church in the city.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.episcopalchurch.org/parish/st-johns-episcopal-church-bainbridge-ga|title=St. John's Episcopal Church, Bainbridge, GA|date=June 13, 2011|website=Episcopal Church}}</ref> Hopkins sang in the choir as a girl.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/arts-culture/miriam-hopkins-1902-1972|title=Miriam Hopkins (1902–1972)|publisher=Georgiaencyclopedia.org|date=August 28, 2013|access-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref>

In 1909, she briefly lived in Mexico with her family. After her parents separated, Hopkins moved as a teen with her mother to [[Syracuse, New York]], to be near her paternal uncle, Thomas Cramer Hopkins, head of the geology department at [[Syracuse University]].<ref name="syracuseuniversity">[http://archives.syr.edu/collections/fac_staff/sua_hopkins_tc.htm#d0e133 T.C. Hopkins Faculty Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141113035712/http://archives.syr.edu/collections/fac_staff/sua_hopkins_tc.htm#d0e133#d0e133 |date=2014-11-13 }}, archives.syr.edu; accessed June 27, 2015.</ref>

Hopkins attended Goddard Seminary in [[Plainfield (town), Vermont|Plainfield, Vermont]] (later renamed [[Goddard College]]), and Syracuse University in New York State.<ref name="syracuseuniversity"/>

==Career==
[[File:Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1931.jpg|thumb|right|With [[Fredric March]] in ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'' (1931)]]
[[File:Design for Living film still.jpg|thumb|right|With [[Fredric March]] and [[Gary Cooper]] in ''[[Design for Living (film)|Design for Living]]'' (1933)]]
[[File:Herbert_Marshall_&_Miriam_Hopkins_-_Trouble_in_Paradise_publicity_shot.jpg|thumb|left|Hopkins and [[Herbert Marshall]] in a publicity photo for ''[[Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)|Trouble in Paradise]]'' (1932)]][[File:Hopkins-Jezebel-1934.jpg|thumb|left|Miriam Hopkins in the Broadway production of ''Jezebel'' (1933), an [[Owen Davis]] play. It was later adapted as a [[Jezebel (1938 film)|1938 film]] but Hopkins lost the lead role to [[Bette Davis]].]]

At age 20, Hopkins became a [[chorus girl]] in New York City; she also acted regularly on the stage throughout the 1920s, including in the 1926 stage adaptation of [[Theodore Dreiser]]'s ''[[An American Tragedy]]''. In 1930, she starred on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in the play ''[[Ritzy (play)|Ritzy]]'' by [[Sidney Toler]]. She starred on Broadway in the lead of ''Jezebel'', a 1933 play by [[Owen Davis]]. When it was adapted as a [[Jezebel (1938 film)|1938 film]] of the same name, Hopkins was bitterly disappointed that [[Bette Davis]] was chosen for the role she had played on stage. This began a feud between them, which the motion picture studios publicized.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ellenberger |first=Allan R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5249DwAAQBAJ&dq=hopkins+and+bette+davis&pg=PT148 |title=Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel |date=2018-01-12 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0-8131-7433-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last= |first= |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9EEEAAAAMBAJ&dq=hopkins+and+bette+davis&pg=PA59 |title=LIFE |date=1939-08-21 |publisher=Time Inc |language=en}}</ref>

In 1930, Hopkins signed with [[Paramount Pictures]] and made her official film debut in ''[[Fast and Loose (1930 film)|Fast and Loose]]''. Her first great success was in the 1931 horror drama film ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]'', where she portrayed Ivy Pearson, a prostitute who becomes entangled with Jekyll and Hyde. She received rave reviews, including one from [[Mordaunt Hall]] of the ''New York Times'', saying she portrayed Ivy "splendidly".<ref>''The New York Times Book of Movies: The Essential 1,000 Films to See'', Universe Publishing, 2019, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", p. 310, first published January 2, 1932</ref>

Her career ascended swiftly. In 1932, she made her breakthrough in [[Ernst Lubitsch]]'s ''[[Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)|Trouble in Paradise]]'', where she proved her charm and wit as a beautiful and jealous pickpocket.<ref name=janeway /> During the pre-code Hollywood of the early 1930s, she appeared in ''[[The Smiling Lieutenant]]'', ''[[The Story of Temple Drake]]'', and ''[[Design for Living (film)|Design for Living]]'', all of which were box-office successes and critically acclaimed.<ref>{{cite news|last=Churchill|first=Douglas W.|date=December 30, 1934|title=The Year in Hollywood: 1934 May Be Remembered as the Beginning of the Sweetness-and-Light Era|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1934/12/30/archives/the-year-in-hollywood-1984-may-be-remembered-as-the-beginning-of.html|work=New York Times|page=X5}}</ref> ''Design for Living'' ranked as one of the top ten highest-grossing films of 1933.

Hopkins' early films were considered sexually risqué; produced in the years before the [[Motion Picture Production Code]] was rigorously enforced, they featured issues that would be prohibited after 1934. For instance, ''The Story of Temple Drake'' depicted a rape scene, and ''Design for Living'' featured a ménage à trois with [[Fredric March]] and [[Gary Cooper]]. Her successes continued during the remainder of the decade with the romantic comedy ''[[The Richest Girl in the World (1934 film)|The Richest Girl in the World]]'' (1934); the historical drama ''[[Becky Sharp (film)|Becky Sharp]]'' (1935), for which she was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]; ''[[Barbary Coast (film)|Barbary Coast]]'' (1935); ''[[These Three]]'' (1936) (the first of four films with the director [[William Wyler]]); and ''[[The Old Maid (1939 film)|The Old Maid]]'' (1939).

Hopkins was one of the early actresses approached to play the role of Ellie Andrews in ''[[It Happened One Night]]'' (1934). She rejected the part, and [[Claudette Colbert]] was cast.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wiley|first=Mason|author2=Damien Bona|author2-link=Damien Bona|title= Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards|year=1987|publisher=Ballantine Books|isbn= 0-345-34453-7|page=54}}</ref> Hopkins auditioned for the role of [[Scarlett O'Hara]] in ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''; she was the only candidate to be a native Georgian, but the part went to British actress [[Vivien Leigh]].

Hopkins had well-publicized fights with Bette Davis. Hopkins and Davis co-starred in ''The Old Maid'' (1939) and ''[[Old Acquaintance]]'' (1943). In this period, she believed that Davis was having an affair with her husband [[Anatole Litvak]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Miriam Hopkins Biography in the Works|work=Alternative Film Guide|url=http://www.altfg.com/blog/actors/miriam-hopkins/|first=Andre |last=Soares|date=December 3, 2006}}</ref> Davis resented her jealousy and said that she had enjoyed shaking Hopkins in a scene in ''Old Acquaintance'' after Hopkins's character makes unfounded allegations against Davis's. Press photos featured the two divas in a boxing ring, gloves up, with the director [[Vincent Sherman]] between them like a referee. In later interviews, Davis described Hopkins as a "terribly good actress", but also "terribly jealous".{{Citation needed |date=August 2019}}

After ''Old Acquaintance'', Hopkins did not work in films again until ''[[The Heiress]]'' (1949), where she played the lead character's aunt. In [[Mitchell Leisen]]'s 1951 comedy ''[[The Mating Season (film)|The Mating Season]]'', she gave a comic performance as the mother of [[Gene Tierney]]'s character. She also acted in ''[[The Children's Hour (1961 film)|The Children's Hour]]'' (1961), a remake of her film ''[[These Three]]'' (1936). In the remake, she played the aunt to [[Shirley MacLaine]], who took Hopkins' original role.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Children's Hour (1961) |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/23793 |access-date=2024-07-08 |website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films}}</ref> Her last film roles included [[Robert Redford]]'s mother in ''[[The Chase (1966 film)|The Chase]]'' (1966) and as an ageing former Hollywood star in the horror film ''[[Savage Intruder]]'' (1970).

Hopkins was a television pioneer. She performed in teleplays from the late 1940s through the late 1960s, in such programs as ''[[The Chevrolet Tele-Theatre]]'' (1949), ''[[Pulitzer Prize Playhouse]]'' (1951), ''[[Lux Video Theatre]]'' (1951–1955), and in episodes of ''[[The Investigators (1961 TV series)|The Investigators]]'' (1961) and ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]'' (1964), and even in an episode of ''[[The Flying Nun]]'' ("Bertrille and the Silent Flicks") in 1969.

She has two stars on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]: one for film at 1709 Vine Street and one for television at 1716 Vine Street.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miriam Hopkins |url=http://www.walkoffame.com/miriam-hopkins |website=Hollywood Walk of Fame |date=25 October 2019 |access-date=November 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191120012624/http://www.walkoffame.com/miriam-hopkins |archive-date=November 20, 2019}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Hopkins married four times. Her first marriage was to actor Brandon Peters, second to aviator and screenwriter Austin Parker, third to the director [[Anatole Litvak]], and fourth to war correspondent Raymond B. Brock.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 October 1945 |title=Miriam Hopkins' Third Wedding |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128319344 |access-date=20 October 2024 |work=Adelaide News |pages=3 |quote=The film and stage actress Miriam Hopkins married Raymond Brock, war correspondent, in the Methodist Church at Alexandria (Virginia). It was her third marriage and Brock's second.}}</ref> In 1932, she adopted a son, Michael T. Hopkins (March 29, 1932 – October 5, 2010), who had a career in the U.S. Air Force.<ref>Ellenberger 2017, pp. 231, 249, 256, 273</ref>

She was known for hosting elegant parties. [[John O'Hara]], a frequent guest, noted that

{{blockquote|most of her guests were chosen from the world of the intellect&nbsp;... Miriam knew them all, had read their work, had listened to their music, had bought their paintings. They were not there because a secretary had given her a list of highbrows.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1972/10/10/issue.html|title=TimesMachine|publisher=Timesmachine.nytimes.com|access-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref>}}

She was a staunch [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who strongly supported the presidency of [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref name="janeway">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vSZFAAAAQBAJ&q=Miriam+Hopkins+Democrat&pg=PT182 |title=The Fall of the House of Roosevelt: Brokers of Ideas and Power from FDR to LBJ|author=Michael Janeway |date=August 22, 2009 |page=102|publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231505772|access-date=October 17, 2015}}</ref>

==Death==
Hopkins died in New York City from a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] on October 9, 1972. She is buried in Oak City Cemetery in Bainbridge, Georgia.<ref>Ellenberger 2017, p. 272</ref>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! style="width:200px;"|Title
! style="width:150px;"|Role
! Notes
|-
| 1928
| ''[[The Home Girl]]''
|
| short Paramount film
|-
| 1930
| ''[[Fast and Loose (1930 film)|Fast and Loose]]''
| Marion Lenox
| Hopkins's feature film debut
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1931
| ''{{sortname|The|Smiling Lieutenant}}''
| Princess Anna
| The first of three films Hopkins made with Lubitsch
|-
| ''[[24 Hours (1931 film)|24 Hours]]''
| Rosie Duggan
| 
|-
| ''[[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931 film)|Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]''
| Ivy Pearson
| 
|-
| rowspan=4 | 1932
| ''[[Two Kinds of Women (1932 film)|Two Kinds of Women]]''
| Emma Krull
|
|-
| ''[[Dancers in the Dark]]''
| Gloria Bishop
|
|-
| ''[[The World and the Flesh]]''
| Maria Yaskaya
| 
|-
| ''[[Trouble in Paradise (1932 film)|Trouble in Paradise]]''
| Lily
| Second film directed by Lubitsch and starring Hopkins
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1933
| ''{{sortname|The|Story of Temple Drake}}''
| [[Temple Drake]]
| Based on Faulkner's scandalous novel ''[[Sanctuary (Faulkner novel)|Sanctuary]]''
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Stranger's Return}}''
| Louise Starr
|
|-
| ''[[Design for Living (film)|Design for Living]]''
| Gilda Farrell
| Third and final film Hopkins and Lubitsch made together
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1934
| ''[[All of Me (1934 film)|All of Me]]''
| Lydia Darrow
| 
|-
| ''[[She Loves Me Not (1934 film)|She Loves Me Not]]''
| Curly Flagg
| 
|-
| ''{{sortname|The|Richest Girl in the World|dab=1934 film}}''
| Dorothy Hunter
| First of five films Hopkins and [[Joel McCrea]] made together
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1935
| ''[[Becky Sharp (film)|Becky Sharp]]''
| Becky Sharp
| Nominated – [[Academy Award for Best Actress]]<br />The first feature film made in three-strip Technicolor
|-
| ''[[Barbary Coast (film)|Barbary Coast]]''
| Mary 'Swan' Rutledge
| Second film starring Hopkins and McCrea
|-
| ''[[Splendor (1935 film)|Splendor]]''
| Phyllis Manning Lorrimore
| Third film starring Hopkins and McCrea
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1936
| ''[[These Three]]''
| Martha Dobie
| The film was adapted from the 1934 play ''The Children's Hour'' by Lillian Hellman.<br /> Fourth film starring Hopkins and McCrea
|-
| ''[[Men Are Not Gods]]''
| Ann Williams
| 
|-
| rowspan=3 | 1937
| ''{{sortname|The|Woman I Love|dab=1937 film}}''
| Madame Helene Maury
| Hopkins married director Anatole Litvak shortly after this film was made.
|-
| ''[[Woman Chases Man]]''
| Virginia Travis
| Final film Hopkins and [[Joel McCrea]] made together
|-
| ''[[Wise Girl (film)|Wise Girl]]''
| Susan 'Susie' Fletcher
| 
|-
| 1939
| ''{{sortname|The|Old Maid|dab=1939 film}}''
| Delia Lovell Ralston
| The first of two films Hopkins made with Bette Davis
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1940
| ''[[Virginia City (film)|Virginia City]]''
| Julia Hayne
| Hopkins co-starred with [[Errol Flynn]]
|-
| ''[[Lady with Red Hair]]''
| [[Mrs. Leslie Carter]]
| 
|-
| 1942
| ''{{sortname|A|Gentleman After Dark}}''
| Flo Melton
| 
|-
| 1943
| ''[[Old Acquaintance]]''
| Millie Drake
| Second of two films Hopkins made with [[Bette Davis]].
|-
| 1949
| ''{{sortname|The|Heiress}}''
| Lavinia Penniman
| Nominated – [[Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress&nbsp;– Motion Picture]]
|-
| 1951
| ''{{sortname|The|Mating Season|dab=film}}''
| Fran Carleton
| 
|-
| rowspan=2 | 1952
| ''[[The Outcasts of Poker Flat (1952 film)|The Outcasts of Poker Flat]]''
| Mrs. Shipton / 'The Duchess'
| 
|-
| ''[[Carrie (1952 film)|Carrie]]''
| Julie Hurstwood
| 
|-
| 1961
| ''{{sortname|The|Children's Hour|dab=film}}''
| Lily Mortar
| Hopkins had starred in the original film adaptation of the play ''The Children's Hour'' titled ''These Three'' in the role of Martha Dobie. In this film, Shirley MacLaine played Martha, and Miriam Hopkins played her Aunt Lily.
|-
| 1964
| ''[[Fanny Hill (1964 film)|Fanny Hill]]''
| Mrs. Maude Brown
| 
|-
| 1966
| ''{{sortname|The|Chase|dab=1966 film}}''
| Mrs. Reeves
| Hopkins played the mother of Robert Redford's character
|-
| 1970
| ''[[Savage Intruder]]''
| Katharine Parker
| 
|}

==Sources==
* Ellenberger, Allan R. (2017). ''[[Miriam Hopkins: Life and Films of a Hollywood Rebel]]''. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. {{ISBN|978-0-8131743-1-0}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Miriam Hopkins}}
*{{IMDb name|0394244}}
* {{Tcmdb name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{Find a Grave|8672}}
*[http://film.virtual-history.com/person.php?personid=658 Photographs of Miriam Hopkins]
*[http://www.altfg.com/blog/actors/miriam-hopkins-interview/ Miriam Hopkins Interview with Biographer Allan Ellenberger]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Miriam}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1972 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:20th-century American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:Actresses from Greater Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Actresses from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Actresses from Savannah, Georgia]]
[[Category:Actresses from Syracuse, New York]]
[[Category:American expatriates in Mexico]]
[[Category:American film actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Broadway theatre people]]
[[Category:California Democrats]]
[[Category:Disease-related deaths in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Episcopalians from California]]
[[Category:Episcopalians from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Episcopalians from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Democrats]]
[[Category:Goddard College alumni]]
[[Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract players]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:Paramount Pictures contract players]]
[[Category:People from Bainbridge, Georgia]]
[[Category:Syracuse University alumni]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. contract players]]