Beth Henley

Born in 1952 in Mississippi, Elizabeth Becker Henley chose to follow in her mother's footsteps when it came time to choose a career. The daughter of a lawyer and an actress, Henley, a playwright who would go on to win a Tony Award for Best Play, an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Henley wanted to be an actress. It was the first drama to ever receive a Pulitzer Prize before going to Broadway.

She pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Southern Methodist University. She began writing plays while she was there and continued doing so after she moved to Los Angeles. Her first major success was Crimes of the Heart in 1979. It would eventually become a movie starring Diane Keaton, Jessica Lange, and Sissy Spacek. It also included a role for fellow playwright, Sam Shepard.

She is hailed for capturing regional voices-specifically Mississippi-in her work.

In addition to playwrighting, Henley has taught at Dallas Minority Repertory Theatre and the University of Illinois.

Bibliography

--B. Redman