American Female Playwrights

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1 Danai Gurira

41 20

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: February 14, 1978

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Grinnell, Iowa, United States

Danai Gurira is best known as Michonne from The Walking Dead and as Okoye from the Marvel films Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. She earned a Tony nomination for writing the Broadway play Eclipsed. She has been a UN Goodwill Ambassador and promotes arts and women empowerment.

2 Zoe Kazan

23 5

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: September 9, 1983

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, USA

3 Mae West

20 4

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: August 17, 1893

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

Died: November 22, 1980

Mae West began her career as a child actor in vaudeville. She later appeared in films such as You Done Me Wrong and Go West, Young Man. She became famous for her signature double entendres and sexual liberty she projected on screen. She also wrote books and plays later.

4 Nora Ephron

22 4

Famous As: Screenwriter, Producer, Director

Birthdate: May 19, 1941

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: June 26, 2012

Nora Ephron was an American writer, filmmaker, and journalist. She is known for writing films like Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally... The Nora Ephron Prize was created by the Tribeca Film Festival in her memory. Her life and work inspired the 2016 documentary film Everything Is Copy, which was directed by her son Jacob Bernstein.

5 Lorraine Hansberry

20 6

Famous As: Writer, Theatre director, Screenwriter, Playwright, Human rights activist

Birthdate: May 19, 1930

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Died: January 12, 1965

Lorraine Hansberry was a writer and playwright best remembered for her play A Raisin in the Sun which emphasizes the plight of African-Americans living under racial segregation. At the age of 29, Lorraine Hansberry received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, becoming the youngest playwright and the first African-American dramatist to win the prestigious award.

6 Amanda Palmer

19 4

Famous As: Singer, Street artist, Composer, Pianist, Musician, Playwright, Blogger, Songwriter

Birthdate: April 30, 1976

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: New York City

7 Ruth Gordon

20 4

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: October 30, 1896

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Quincy, Massachusetts, United States

Died: August 28, 1985

8 Gypsy Rose Lee

19 4

Famous As: Entertainer

Birthdate: January 8, 1911

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Seattle, Washington, USA

Died: April 26, 1970

Gypsy Rose Lee was an American vedette and burlesque entertainer best remembered for her striptease act. She was also an actress, playwright, and author whose memoir inspired the 1959 stage musical, Gypsy. Lee's life inspired several works of art, including a song titled Gypsy Rose Lee by The Distillers. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

9 Ruby Dee

20 5

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: October 27, 1922

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Died: June 11, 2014

10 Elaine May

20 4

Famous As: Actor, Film director, Screenwriter, Writer, Playwright

Birthdate: April 21, 1932

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

11 Joyce Carol Oates

20 4

Famous As: Writer

Birthdate: June 16, 1938

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Lockport, New York, United States

12 Carrie Hamilton

19 5

Famous As: Actress

Birthdate: December 5, 1963

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: New York City, New York, USA

Died: January 20, 2002

13 Patrisse Cullors

19 4

Famous As: Artist

Birthdate: June 20, 1983

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, U.S.

14 Lillian Hellman

21 4

Famous As: Dramatist and Screenwriter

Birthdate: June 20, 1905

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana

Died: June 30, 1984

15 Tovah Feldshuh

19 4

Famous As: Television actor, Film actor, Writer, Playwright, Stage actor

Birthdate: December 27, 1952

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: New York City

16 Patricia Wettig

18 4

Famous As: Actor, Playwright, Stage actor, Television actor

Birthdate: December 4, 1951

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Cincinnati

17 Frances Hodgson Burnett

18 4

Famous As: Novelist

Birthdate: November 24, 1849

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Birthplace: Cheetham, Manchester, England

Died: October 29, 1924

18 Charlayne Woodard

18 4

Famous As: Actress, Playwright

Birthdate: December 29, 1953

Sun Sign: Capricorn

Birthplace: Albany, New York, United States

19 Edna St. Vincent Millay

18 4

Famous As: Poet

Birthdate: February 22, 1892

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: Rockland, Maine, United States

Died: October 19, 1950

20 Anna Deavere Smith

18 4

Famous As: Actress, Playwright & Professor

Birthdate: September 18, 1950

Sun Sign: Virgo

Birthplace: Baltimore, Maryland, United States

21 Clare Boothe Luce

17 3

Famous As: Author, Politician

Birthdate: March 10, 1903

Sun Sign: Pisces

Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Died: October 9, 1987

22 Kathy Acker

17 3

Famous As: Author

Birthdate: April 18, 1947

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: New York City, New York

Died: November 30, 1997

23 Eve Ensler

17 3

Famous As: Artist, Actor, Playwright, Autobiographer, Writer, Feminist

Birthdate: May 25, 1953

Sun Sign: Gemini

Birthplace: New York City

24 Annie Baker

15 3

Famous As: screenwriter, author, writer

Birthdate: March 31, 1981

Sun Sign: Aries

Birthplace: Boston

25 Lynn Nottage

14 3

Famous As: Playwright

Birthdate: November 2, 1964

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, United States

26 Ntozake Shange

16 3

Famous As: Playwright

Birthdate: October 18, 1948

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Trenton, New Jersey, United States

Died: October 27, 2018

27 Natalie Clifford Barney

16 3

Famous As: Playwright

Birthdate: October 31, 1876

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Dayton, Ohio, United States

Died: February 2, 1972

28 Zhang Ailing

15 3

Famous As: Writer

Birthdate: September 30, 1920

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: Shanghai, China

Died: September 8, 1995

29 Leslye Headland

16 3

Famous As: Director, producer known for the play and 2012 film Bachelorette and 2015 film Sleeping with Other People

Birthdate: 1980 AD

Birthplace: Maryland, United States

30 Marilyn vos Savant

24 20

Famous As: Columnist

Birthdate: August 11, 1946

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, United States

31 Suzan-Lori Parks

15 3

Famous As: American playwright

Birthdate: May 10, 1963

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Fort Knox, Kentucky, United States

32 Sarah Ruhl

14 3

Famous As: Playwright whose most popular plays are Eurydice (2003), The Clean House (2004), and In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play) (2009)

Birthdate: January 24, 1974

Sun Sign: Aquarius

Birthplace: Wilmette, Illinois, United States

33 Shirley Graham Du Bois

14 3

Famous As: Author

Birthdate: November 11, 1896

Sun Sign: Scorpio

Birthplace: Indianapolis, Indiana, United States

Died: March 27, 1977

34 Regina Taylor

1 0

Famous As: Actress, Playwright.

Birthdate: August 22, 1960

Sun Sign: Leo

Birthplace: Dallas, Texas, United States

35 Betty Comden

14 3

Famous As: Screenwriter, Librettist, Performer, Stage actor, Lyricist, Songwriter

Birthdate: May 3, 1917

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: New York City

Died: November 23, 2006

36 Wendy Wasserstein

14 3

Famous As: Playwright

Birthdate: October 18, 1950

Sun Sign: Libra

Birthplace: New York City, New York, United States

Died: January 30, 2006

37 Susan Glaspell

14 3

Famous As: Playwright

Birthdate: July 1, 1876

Sun Sign: Cancer

Birthplace: Davenport, Iowa, United States

Died: July 28, 1948

38 Roberta Colindrez

1 0

Famous As: actress and writer known for originating the role of Joan in the musical Fun Home

Birthdate: April 30, 1986

Sun Sign: Taurus

Birthplace: Monterrey, Mexico

Mexican-American actor and dramatist Roberta Colindrez had decided she wanted to pursue acting at age 12. Known for shows such as I Love Dick, she also gained fame as Joan from the musical Fun Home. She has spoken about how her queer sexual identity became an obstacle in her acting career.