Born Patricia Neal in Birmingham, AL; educated at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and the University of Alabama (drama); received an honorary doctorate from Franklin Pierece College, Rindge, NH (1997). Stand-up comedienne and comedy actress who honed her writing skills by creating her own original sketches, first as a determined contestant in the Miss Alabama contest (which she finally won on her sixth attempt) and later in comedy clubs. In the 1960s Flagg was hired as a writer for Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" comedy series and later became a regular performer on that show and others. A regular on "The New Dick Van Dyke Show" (1971-73), "Home Cookin" (1975) and "Harper Valley PTA" (1981) as well as a frequent guest performer elsewhere, Flagg made her film acting debut in FIVE EASY PIECES (1970) and subsequently appeared in STAY HUNGRY (1976), RABBIT TEST (1978) and GREASE (1978). Having begun her career as a novelist with Coming Attractions (1981), Flagg wrote the popular Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, published in 1987. In 1991, with the collaboration of screenwriter Carol Sobieski and the uncredited assistance of director-producer Jon Avnet, she turned the novel into the film FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991). A gently feminist portrait of two women growing up in the Depression-era rural South, the film (which excised the lesbian content of the book) was a huge popular hit and netted Flagg an Oscar® nomination for her screenwriting debut. Other screen acting credits include RABBIT TEST (1978), MY BEST FRIEND IS A VAMPIRE (1988), FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991) and CRAZY IN ALABAMA (1999). She has yet to write another produced screenplay.  Nominated for Achievement in Writing - Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published 1991: FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (w. Carol Sobieski) 1 nomination