Born in Belleville, New Jersey. A former actress, she wrote a number of plays (including the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Diary of Anne Frank) and many screenplays with her third husband, Albert Hackett (1900-1995). Their credits include UP POPS THE DEVIL (1931), THE THIN MAN (1934), NAUGHTY MARIETTA and AH, WILDERNESS! (both 1935), ROSE-MARIE, SMALL TOWN GIRL and AFTER THE THIN MAN (all 1936), THE FIREFLY (1937), ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939), LADY IN THE DARK (1944), THE VIRGINIAN and IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (both 1946), EASTER PARADE and THE PIRATE (both 1948), IN THE GOOD OLD SUMMERTIME (1949), FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950), FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND and TOO YOUNG TO KISS (both 1951), SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS and THE LONG, LONG TRAILER (both 1954), GABY (1956), A CERTAIN SMILE (1958), THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959) and FIVE FINGER EXERCISE (1962).

Nominated for Writing (Adaptation) 1934: THE THIN MAN - w. Albert Hackett  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1936: AFTER THE THIN MAN - w. Albert Hackett  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1950: FATHER OF THE BRIDE - w. Albert Hackett  Nominated for Writing (Screenplay) 1954: SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS - w. Albert Hackett & Dorothy Kingsley 4 nominations