
Born into wealth in Savannah,Georgia on October 18, 1902, Ellen Miriam Hopkins was able to attend the finest educational institutions including Goddard Seminary in Plainfield, Vermont and Syracuse University in New York State. Studying dance in New York , she received her first taste of show business as a chorus girl at twenty. She appeared in local musicals before she began expanding her horizons by trying out dramatic roles four years later. By 1928, Miriam was appearing in stock companies on the East Coast and her reviews were getting better after having been vilified earlier in her career. In 1930, Miriam decided to try the silver screen and signed with Paramount Studios. Since she was already established on Broadway, Paramount felt they were getting a seasoned performer after the rave reviews she had received on Broadway. Her first role was in Fast and Loose (1930). The role, where Miriam played a rebellious girl, was a good start. After appearing in 24 Hours (1931), where she is killed by her husband, Miriam played Princess Anna in The Smiling Lieutenant (1931) opposite Maurice Chevalier. Still considered a newcomer, Miriam displayed a talent that had all the earmarks of stardom. She was to finish out the year by playing Ivy Pearson in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931). Miriam began filming World and the Flesh (1932) which was not a box-office blockbuster. Later, she appeared in Dancers in the Dark (1932) with George Raft. The film was unexpectedly strong and enjoyable which served as a catalyst to propel Miriam and Raft to bigger stardom. In Two Kinds ...more
Movie | Thou Shalt Not: Sex, Sin and Censorship in Pre-Code Hollywood | Ivy Pearson (archive footage) | 2008-03-03 |
Movie | Stardust: The Bette Davis Story | Herself as Millie Drake (archive footage) | 2006-05-03 |
Movie | Complicated Women | Herself (archive footage) | 2003-05-06 |
Movie | Hollywood Horror House | Katherine Parker | 1970-01-01 |
Movie | The Chase | Mrs. Reeves | 1966-02-18 |
Movie | Fanny Hill | Maude Brown | 1964-09-25 |
Movie | The Children's Hour | Lily Mortar | 1961-12-19 |
Series | Matinee Theater | Unknown | 1955-10-31 |
Series | General Electric Theater | Unknown | 1953-02-01 |
Movie | The Mating Season | Fran Carleton | 1951-01-12 |
Series | Lux Video Theatre | Unknown | 1950-10-02 |
Series | Studio One | Unknown | 1948-11-07 |
Movie | A Gentleman After Dark | Flo Melton | 1942-04-16 |
Movie | Virginia City | Julia Hayne | 1940-03-23 |
Movie | Lady with Red Hair | Mrs. Leslie Carter | 1940-11-30 |
Movie | The Old Maid | Delia Lovell Ralston | 1939-08-16 |
Movie | The Woman I Love | Mme. Helene Maury | 1937-04-15 |
Movie | Wise Girl | Susan Fletcher | 1937-12-31 |
Movie | Woman Chases Man | Virginia Travis | 1937-05-07 |
Movie | These Three | Martha Dobie | 1936-03-18 |
Movie | Men Are Not Gods | Ann Williams | 1936-11-26 |
Movie | Splendor | Phyllis Manning Lorrimore | 1935-11-22 |
Movie | Becky Sharp | Becky Sharp | 1935-06-28 |
Movie | Barbary Coast | Mary 'Swan' Rutledge | 1935-10-13 |
Movie | All of Me | Lydia Darrow | 1934-02-01 |
Movie | Hollywood on Parade No. B-1 | 1934-03-02 | |
Movie | The Richest Girl in the World | Dorothy Hunter | 1934-09-21 |
Movie | She Loves Me Not | Curly Flagg | 1934-08-31 |
Movie | The Stranger's Return | Louise | 1933-07-28 |
Movie | The Story of Temple Drake | Temple Drake | 1933-05-06 |
Movie | Design for Living | Gilda Farrell | 1933-12-29 |
Movie | Dancers in the Dark | Gloria Bishop | 1932-03-11 |
Movie | Two Kinds of Women | Emma Krull | 1932-01-16 |
Movie | The World and the Flesh | Maria Yaskaya | 1932-04-22 |
Movie | Trouble in Paradise | Lily | 1932-10-30 |
Movie | The Smiling Lieutenant | Princess Anna | 1931-08-01 |
Movie | The House That Shadows Built | (archive footage) | 1931-07-08 |
Movie | 24 Hours | Rosie Dugan | 1931-10-03 |
Movie | Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Ivy Pearson | 1931-12-24 |
Movie | Fast and Loose | Marion Lenox | 1930-11-08 |
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