Miriam Hopkins

Born into wealth in Savannah,Georgia on October 18, 1902, Ellen Miriam Hopkins was able to attend the finest educational institutions including Goddard Seminary in Plainfield, Vermont and Syracuse University in New York State. Studying dance in New York , she received her first taste of show business as a chorus girl at twenty. She appeared in local musicals before she began expanding her horizons by trying out dramatic roles four years later.

By 1928, Miriam was appearing in stock companies on the East Coast and her reviews were getting better after having been vilified earlier in her career.

In 1930, Miriam decided to try the silver screen and signed with Paramount Studios. Since she was already established on Broadway, Paramount felt they were getting a seasoned performer after the rave reviews she had received on Broadway.

Her first role was in Fast and Loose (1930). The role, where Miriam played a rebellious girl, was a good start.

After appearing in 24 Hours (1931), where she is killed by her husband, Miriam played Princess Anna in The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) opposite Maurice Chevalier. Still considered a newcomer, Miriam displayed a talent that had all the earmarks of stardom. She was to finish out the year by playing Ivy Pearson in Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde (1931).

Miriam began filming The World and the Flesh (1932) which was not a box-office blockbuster.

Later, she appeared in Dancers in the Dark (1932) with George Raft. The film was unexpectedly strong and enjoyable which served as a catalyst to propel Miriam and Raft to bigger stardom.

In Two Kinds of Women (1932) directed by William C. de Mille, Miriam once again performed magnificently.

Later that year she played Lily Vautier in the sophisticated comedy Trouble in Paradise (1932). A film that should have been nominated for an Academy Award, it has lasted through the years as a masterpiece in comedy - even today, film buffs and historians rave about it.

Miriam's brilliant performance in Design for Living (1933) propelled her to the top of Paramount's salary scale.

Later that year, Miriam played the title role in The Story of Temple Drake (1933). Paramount was forced to tone down the film's violence and character being raped to pass they Hayes Office code. Despite being watered down, it was still a box-office smash.

In 1934, Miriam filmed All of Me (1934) which was less than well-received.

Had a long-running feud with Bette Davis that started before they even entered films, because of jealousy. They were both stage actresses with the same company where Hopkins had been the bigger star who first made it to Hollywood to become a star in films. They were both nominated for Best Actress Oscar in 1935, and Davis won and became the bigger star. She won her second Oscar for Jezebel (1938), which had been a flop on Broadway for Hopkins back in 1933. Davis had an affair with director Anatole Litvak, who at one point was married to Hopkins, although there have been conflicting reports whether the affair took place while he was still married to Hopkins. They competed with each other for screen time in the two films they acted together: The Old Maid (1939) and Old Acquaintance (1943). Long after Hopkins died, the only nice thing that Davis said about her was that she was a good actress, but otherwise she was a "real bitch".

Director William Wyler cast her in four films that received Academy Award nominations: These Three (1936) and its remake The Children's Hour (1961), The Heiress (1949) and Carrie (1952).

Soon, the country was abuzz as to who would play Scarlett O'Hara in Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1939). Miriam wanted the coveted spot especially since she was a Southern lady and Georgia native. Unfortunately, as we all know, she didn't win the role.

As a matter of fact, her only movie role that year was in The Old Maid (1939). By this time, the roles were only trickling in for her. With the slowdown in film work, Miriam found herself returning to the stage.

She made two films in 1940, none in 1941, and one in 1942 and 1943, respectively. The stage was her work now.

However in 1949, she received the role of Lavinia Penniman in The Heiress (1949).

Miriam made only three films in the 1950's, but she had begun making appearances on television programs.

Miriam made her final big screen appearance in Hollywood Horror House (1970).

In July, 1972, despite concerns about her health and a premonition that she shouldn't travel, she flew to New York to attend the special screening of "Story of Temple Drake," celebrating the 60th anniversary of Paramount Pictures, followed by a gala party in her honor at the Museum of Modern Art. Just as she had feared, she suffered a major heart attack and died in her hotel suite before getting back to her California home.

Is portrayed by Sheilah Wells in The Scarlett O'Hara War (1980)

She is buried at Oak City Cemetary in Bainbridge, Georgia, USA [May 2011]

On August 16, 2018, she was honored with a day of her film work during the TCM Summer Under The Stars.