Who Is Lillian Hellman? Age, Biography and Wiki
Lillian Hellman was born on June 20, 1905, and passed away on July 30, 1984. As of 2025, she would have been 120 years old. Hellman was a prominent American playwright, screenwriter, and author, celebrated for her fierce advocacy for social justice and her outspoken political views. Her most notable works include "The Children's Hour," "The Little Foxes," and "Toys in the Attic." She was a pioneering figure in American theater, known for her strong female characters and exploration of moral ambiguity.
| Occupation | Screenwriter |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | June 20, 1905 |
| Age | 79 Years |
| Birth Place | New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Gemini |
| Country | U.S |
| Date of death | 30 June, 1984 |
| Died Place | Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Popularity
Lillian Hellman's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
While specific measurements of Lillian Hellman's height and weight are not readily documented, she was known for her striking presence on stage and screen. Impeccably dressed and poised, Hellman made a lasting impression in the world of theater. As with many influential figures of her time, her personality and work often eclipsed conventional metrics of physical appearance.
Lillian Florence Hellman (June 20, 1905 – June 30, 1984) was an American playwright, prose writer, memoirist, and screenwriter known for her success on Broadway as well as her communist views and political activism.
She was blacklisted after her appearance before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) at the height of the anti-communist campaigns of 1947–1952. Although she continued to work on Broadway in the 1950s, her blacklisting by the U.S. film industry caused a drop in her income.
Many praised Hellman for refusing to answer HUAC's questions, but others believed, despite her denial, that she had belonged to the Communist Party.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Throughout her life, Lillian Hellman was known for her passionate relationships. She was famously involved with playwright Dashiell Hammett, with whom she had a long-term relationship until his death in 1961. Despite the trials and tribulations in her personal life, including her bold and uncompromising nature, her relationships often reflected her fierce independence and creative spirit. In 1931, she married author and journalist Arthur Kober; however, the marriage ended in divorce in 1932. As of 2025, Lillian Hellman remains a historical figure, with no current relationships as she passed away in 1984.
Beginning in the late 1960s, and continuing to her death, Hellman wrote a series of memoirs of her colorful life and acquaintances.
Her accuracy was challenged in 1979 on The Dick Cavett Show, when Mary McCarthy said of Hellman's memoirs that "every word she writes is a lie, including 'and' and 'the'." Hellman sued McCarthy and Cavett for defamation, and during the suit, investigators found errors in Hellman's Pentimento.
They said that its "Julia" section, which was the basis for the Oscar-winning 1977 movie of the same name, was actually based on the life of Muriel Gardiner.
Martha Gellhorn, one of the most prominent war correspondents of the 20th century and Ernest Hemingway's third wife, said that Hellman's memories of Hemingway and the Spanish Civil War were inaccurate. McCarthy, Gellhorn, and others accused Hellman of lying about her membership in the Communist Party and of being a committed Stalinist.
Net Worth and Salary
Although Lillian Hellman passed away decades ago, her works continue to be celebrated and performed, contributing to her lasting legacy and posthumous earnings. At the time of her death, her estimated net worth was around $3 million. Today, considering the value of her works, which are still prevalent in theater and literature curricula, her legacy in terms of financial influence and cultural capital is substantial but difficult to quantify accurately.
Career, Business and Investments
Lillian Hellman's career flourished in the mid-20th century, with her plays gaining critical acclaim and commercial success. She was known for her fierce dedication to socio-political issues, often infusing her narratives with themes of justice, morality, and the human condition. Alongside her plays, she also wrote screenplays for several films, making significant contributions to American cinema. Hellman was a member of various literary and cultural organizations, championing the arts even beyond her writing. Her bold character and willingness to speak out against injustice led her to be involved in political activism as well.
The defamation suit was unresolved at the time of Hellman's death in 1984; her executors eventually withdrew the complaint. Hellman's modern-day literary reputation rests largely on the plays and screenplays from the first three decades of her career, not on the memoirs.
Social Network
In her time, Lillian Hellman was well-connected within literary and theatrical circles, often mingling with influential figures of her era, including actors, writers, and political activists. Today, Hellman's contributions are celebrated through various social media platforms, where organizations dedicated to theater and literature frequently share her works and accomplishments. Fans and scholars continue to connect over her enduring impact on American literature and theater.
Hellman countered: "I don't believe in that fine, lovable little Republic of Finland that everyone gets so weepy about.
I've been there and it seems like a little pro-Nazi Republic to me." Bankhead, who hated Nazism and had become a strong critic of Communism since the mid 1930s Great Purge and for what she saw as a communist betrayal of the Second Spanish Republic, was outraged by Hellman's actions and thought her a moral hypocrite.
Hellman had never been to Finland. Bankhead and the cast suspected that Hellman's refusal was motivated by her devotion to the Stalinist regime in Soviet Russia. Hellman and Bankhead became adversaries as a result of the feud, not speaking to each other for a quarter of a century afterward.
Education
Lillian Hellman attended the University of California, Berkeley, where she briefly studied and later transferred to New York City's Columbia University. Though her formal education was short-lived as she left to pursue her passion for writing, her experiences and interactions with various literary figures in New York profoundly influenced her writing career.
As we look back at the life of Lillian Hellman in 2025, it's essential to recognize her as a trailblazer in American drama whose works continue to inspire new generations of writers and activists alike.
On December 31, 1925, Hellman married Arthur Kober, a playwright and press agent, although they often lived apart. In 1929, she traveled around Europe for a time and settled in Bonn to continue her education.
She felt an initial attraction to a Nazi student group that advocated "a kind of socialism" until their questioning of her Jewish ties made their antisemitism clear, and she returned immediately to the United States. Years later she wrote, "Then for the first time in my life I thought about being a Jew."
