Anne Edwards
Encyclopedia
Anne Edwards is an author best known for her biographies of celebrities that include Princess Diana, Maria Callas
, Judy Garland
, Katharine Hepburn
, Vivien Leigh
, Margaret Mitchell
, Ronald Reagan
, Barbra Streisand
, Shirley Temple
and Countess Sonya Tolstoy. She attended University of California, Los Angeles
(1943–46) and Southern Methodist University
(1947–48). A child performer on stage and radio, she began her writing career as a junior writer at MGM in 1944 and became a noted Hollywood screenwriter and television writer during the late 1940s and early 1950s. She lived in the UK and Europe from the mid 1950s until 1972. Her film credits include co-writing the first draft of the screenplay for the film Funny Girl
(1968) starring Barbra Streisand
. She wrote her first novel, the best-selling The Survivors, in 1968 and subsequently (as of 2008) has written seven novels, fifteen biographies, three children's books, and (with her husband—composer-musicologist-pianist Stephen Citron)-- an autobiography. She lived in Connecticut, USA in 1997. She is a past president of the Authors Guild and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Her collection of literary manuscripts, papers, and related materials is now part of the Special Collections Department of the Charles E. Young Research Library
at UCLA, where she has taught writing. She currently resides in Beverly Hills, California
.
In an interview for Publishers Weekly
, Edwards said, "An idea hits me, then I develop the story or, in the case of a biography, think of a person who exemplifies that theme. Vivien [Leigh], Judy [Garland] and Sonya [Tolstoy] were vastly interesting people and symbolic of certain things: Judy, the exploitation of a woman; Vivien, somebody who suffered from manic-depression; Sonya, an intelligent woman subjugated to a man who used her, drained her, made a villain of her."
Maria Callas
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique, a wide-ranging voice and great dramatic gifts...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
, Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Mitchell
Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell was an American author and journalist. Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1937 for her epic American Civil War era novel, Gone with the Wind, which was the only novel by Mitchell published during her lifetime.-Family:Margaret Mitchell was born in Atlanta,...
, Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple
Shirley Temple Black , born Shirley Jane Temple, is an American film and television actress, singer, dancer, autobiographer, and former U.S. Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia...
and Countess Sonya Tolstoy. She attended University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
(1943–46) and Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
(1947–48). A child performer on stage and radio, she began her writing career as a junior writer at MGM in 1944 and became a noted Hollywood screenwriter and television writer during the late 1940s and early 1950s. She lived in the UK and Europe from the mid 1950s until 1972. Her film credits include co-writing the first draft of the screenplay for the film Funny Girl
Funny Girl (film)
Funny Girl is a 1968 romantic musical film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Isobel Lennart was adapted from her book for the stage musical of the same title...
(1968) starring Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
. She wrote her first novel, the best-selling The Survivors, in 1968 and subsequently (as of 2008) has written seven novels, fifteen biographies, three children's books, and (with her husband—composer-musicologist-pianist Stephen Citron)-- an autobiography. She lived in Connecticut, USA in 1997. She is a past president of the Authors Guild and currently serves on its Board of Directors. Her collection of literary manuscripts, papers, and related materials is now part of the Special Collections Department of the Charles E. Young Research Library
Charles E. Young Research Library
The Charles E. Young Research Library is one of the largest libraries at UCLA. It is named after the university's former chancellor of 29 years. Unlike the College Library which is geared towards undergraduates, this library is meant mainly for faculty and graduate students who wish to conduct...
at UCLA, where she has taught writing. She currently resides in Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills is an affluent city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. With a population of 34,109 at the 2010 census, up from 33,784 as of the 2000 census, it is home to numerous Hollywood celebrities. Beverly Hills and the neighboring city of West Hollywood are together...
.
In an interview for Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
, Edwards said, "An idea hits me, then I develop the story or, in the case of a biography, think of a person who exemplifies that theme. Vivien [Leigh], Judy [Garland] and Sonya [Tolstoy] were vastly interesting people and symbolic of certain things: Judy, the exploitation of a woman; Vivien, somebody who suffered from manic-depression; Sonya, an intelligent woman subjugated to a man who used her, drained her, made a villain of her."
Biographies
- Judy Garland: A Biography (Simon & SchusterSimon & SchusterSimon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
, 1975) - Vivien Leigh: A Biography (Simon & Schuster, 1977)
- Sonya: The Life of Countess Tolstoy (Simon & Schuster, 1981)
- Road to Tara: Life of Margaret Mitchell (Hodder & StoughtonHodder & StoughtonHodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
, 1983) - Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor (William Morrow and CompanyWilliam Morrow and CompanyWilliam Morrow and Company is an American publishing company founded by William Morrow in 1926. The company was acquired by Scott Foresman in 1967, and sold to Hearst Corporation in 1981. It was sold along to the News Corporation in 1999...
, 1984) - A Remarkable Woman: A Biography of Katharine Hepburn (Morrow, 1985)
- The DeMilles: An American Family (Harry N. AbramsABRAMS BooksAbrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , is an American publisher of high-quality art and illustrated books, and the enterprise is presently a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe...
, 1988) - Shirley Temple: American Princess (Morrow, 1988)
- Early Reagan: The Rise to Power (Morrow, 1990)
- Royal Sisters: Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret (Morrow, 1990)
- The Grimaldis of Monaco: Centuries of Scandal/Years of Grace (Morrow, 1992)
- Throne of Gold: The Lives of the Aga Khans (Diane Publishing, 1995)
- Streisand: A Biography (Little, Brown, 1997)
- Maria Callas: An Intimate Biography (St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, 2001) - The Reagans: Portrait of a Marriage (St. Martin's Press, 2003)
Novels
- The Survivors (Holt Rinehart Winston, 1968)
- Miklos Alexandrovitch Is Missing (Coward-McCann, 1970)
- Shadow Of A Lion (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971)
- Haunted Summer (Bantam BooksBantam BooksBantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by Random House, the German media corporation subsidiary of Bertelsmann; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin, Jr., Sidney B. Kramer, and Ian and Betty Ballantine...
, 1974) - The Hesitant Heart (Random House, 1974)
- Child of Night (Random House, 1975)
- Wallis: The Novel (Morrow, 1991)
- La Divina (Mandarin PublishingRandom HouseRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
, 1996)
Autobiography
- The Inn and Us (Random House, 1976), co-authored with husband Stephen Citron
Children's Books
- P. T. Barnum (PutnamG. P. Putnam's SonsG. P. Putnam's Sons was a major United States book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.-History:...
, 1977) - The Great Houdini (Putnam, 1977)
- A Child's Bible (Topeka Bindery, 1987), co-authored with Shirley Steen