Miriam Hopkins
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
This highly talented blonde Broadway actress possessed an intriguing, husky voice and a brittle, sometimes twitchy yet sexy style. An off-beat combination of a vivacious Southern belle and an insecure yet superior modern woman, Hopkins signed as a leading lady with Paramount in 1930 and gained early stardom for her roles in productions including the delightful Ernst Lubitsch musical "The Smiling Lieutenant" (1931) and Rouben Mamoulian's striking "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1932). In Lubitsch's masterpiece, "Trouble in Paradise" (1932), she displayed a sharp talent for sly, sophisticated banter, and she won an Oscar nomination in the title role of Mamoulian's "Becky Sharp" (1935). The feisty, intelligent Hopkins gave what is probably her finest dramatic performance in William Wyler's sterling if significantly altered adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play "The Children's Hour," "These Three" (1936).
Known to be difficult on the set, Hopkins flitted from studio to studio. After her early tenure at Paramount, she was under contract to independent producer Samuel Goldwyn during the mid-30s and by the end of the decade had moved to Warner Brothers, where a rivalry with Bette Davis manifested itself in both the plotline and the actual filming of the touching soaper, "The Old Maid" (1939). Her stardom began to decline toward the end of the decade after several films ("The Woman I Love" 1937, "Lady with Red Hair" 1940) fizzled at the box office. For a time Hopkins had been a critics' darling; as her films became more routine and she became increasingly disenchanted with her opportunities in Hollywood, some of her performances became more mannered. After another competitive reteaming with Davis in the enjoyably catty "Old Acquaintance" (1943), which put her fidgety qualities to good use, Hopkins returned to Broadway and stage tours and bid farewell to Hollywood for six years.
Hopkins began playing occasional film character parts at the end of the 40s. She was especially good in her first major supporting role in films, that of the solicitous, romantic aunt in a fine reunion film with Wyler, "The Heiress" (1949). Hopkins made intermittent appearances through the mid-60s, including one in Wyler's 1962 remake, "The Children's Hour" (playing the aunt of the character she had played 26 years earlier). She also did occasional TV work, perhaps most memorably in an outlandish yet highly effective and even moving Norma Desmond-type turn as an overage flapper still living in her youthful past in "Don't Open Till Doomsday," an especially memorable installment of the cult classic anthology series, "The Outer Limits."
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Life Events
1921
Debut as chorus girl in "The Music Box Revue"
1923
Switched to acting
1930
Signed with Paramount
1930
Made film acting debut in a leading role in Paramount's "Fast and Loose"
1935
Was affiliated with Samuel Goldwyn Productions for a number of films in the mid-1930s
1935
Received Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of "Becky Sharp"
1936
First film with director William Wyler, "These Three"
1939
Joined Warner Bros.; made a film opposite rival Bette Davis, "The Old Maid"
1943
Last film for six years, "Old Acquaintance", opposite Davis
1949
Returned to film to play her first supporting role, in William Wyler's "The Heiress"
1962
Last film with Wyler, "The Children's Hour", a remake of "These Three"
1966
Last film, "The Chase"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Companions
