Dorothy Donnelly

Dorothy Donnelly (January 28, 1880 - January 3, 1928) was an actress, playwright, librettist, producer and director. After a decade-long acting career that included several notable roles on Broadway, she turned to writing plays, musicals and operettas, including more than a dozen on Broadway including several long-running successes. Her most famous libretto was The Student Prince (1924), in collaboration with composer Sigmund Romberg.

Life and career

Donnelly was born in New York City to Thomas Lester Donnelly, the manager of the Grand Opera House in New York, and his wife Sarah (née Williams). Donnelly attended the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York.

She began acting on Broadway in 1901, playing such roles at the title role in Candida. She made famous the play Madame X on the Broadway stage in 1910 and in a 1916 silent film. She is the subject of a 1999 book by Lorraine McLean Dorothy Donnelly: A Life in the Theatre. She then made a few silent films before turning to playwriting.