Edna Ferber

Novelist

Birthday August 15, 1887

Birth Sign Leo

Birthplace Kalamazoo, MI

DEATH DATE Apr 16, 1968 (80)

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About

The Pulitzer prize-winning author of So Big (1924), she is best known for her 1926 work, Show Boat, which was adapted into a popular Broadway musical in 1927. Several of her other works, including Cimarron (1929) and Giant (1952) were adapted into award-winning motion pictures.

Before Fame

She briefly studied at Lawrence University before beginning her writing career as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal and The Appleton Daily Crescent. She published her first novel, Dawn O'Hara, in 1911.

Trivia

Many of her novels and stories feature characters in the American Midwest who witness vast cultural and technological changes through the generations. She is particularly known for creating strong female characters.

Family Life

She was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan to a family of Hungarian-Jewish descent. She never married or had children.

Associated With

She collaborated with George S. Kaufman on the writing of several plays, including Dinner at Eight and Stage Door.