---
name: "Lillian Hellman"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lillian-hellman"
roles: ["Writer"]
born: "20 June 1905"
died: "30 June 1984"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-20T01:06:04.893805+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lillian Hellman

Writer. Born 20 June 1905 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Died 30 June 1984.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer
- **Born:** 20 June 1905, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- **Died:** 30 June 1984
- **Active:** 1937–1943
- **Also known as:** Lillian Florence Hellman
- **Frequently works with:** [Samuel Goldwyn](https://film.one/person/samuel-goldwyn.md), [William Wyler](https://film.one/person/william-wyler.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as writer, over 3 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1930s 73 (1), 1940s 79 (2)
- **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Crime 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lillian_Hellman, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q233701, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0375484/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/85692

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*The Little Foxes*](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md) (85), [*Dead End*](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md) (73)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Lillian Hellman (20 June 1905 – 30 June 1984) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, she attended New York University and Columbia University before working as a reader and scenarist in Hollywood.

Her plays include *The Children's Hour* (1934), *The Little Foxes* (1939) and *Watch on the Rhine* (1941). She wrote screenplays for *These Three* (1936), *Dead End* (1937) and *The Little Foxes* (1941). Hellman was blacklisted by the film industry after refusing to name associates before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the early 1950s, though she continued to work in theatre.

She maintained a long relationship with writer Dashiell Hammett until his death in 1961. Her memoirs include *An Unfinished Woman* (1969) and *Pentimento* (1973).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, britannica.com, jwa.org.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), Fi1m 73, Theatre Play, Additional Writing — [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md)
- *The Little Foxes* (1941), Fi1m 85, Screenplay, Theatre Play — [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md)
- *Dead End* (1937), Fi1m 73, Screenplay — [page](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md)

## Complete filmography (31)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Candide* (2023), Original Story, Lyricist
- *Watch on the Rhine* (2021), Writer
- *Days To Come* (2021), Writer
- *Candide* (2007), Writer
- *Candide* (2005), Lyricist
- *Leonard Bernstein: Candide* (2003), Writer
- *Candide* (1991), Lyricist
- *Leonard Bernstein - Bernstein - Candide* (1989), Lyricist
- *The Case of Dashiell Hammett* (1982), Actor
- *Julia* (1977), as Woman in Boat · Book
- *The Rehearsal* (1974), Actor
- *Another Part of the Forest* (1972), Screenplay
- *Montserrat* (1971), Screenplay
- *Alta comedia* (1970), series, Theatre Play
- *The Chase* (1966), Screenplay
- *Lištičky* (1964), Theatre Play
- *Toys in the Attic* (1963), Theatre Play
- *The Children's Hour* (1961), Theatre Play, Adaptation
- *The Lark* (1957), Writer
- *Armored Attack!* (1957), Screenplay
- *The Little Foxes* (1956), Theatre Play
- *Another Part of the Forest* (1948), Novel
- *The Searching Wind* (1946), Theatre Play, Screenplay
- *The North Star* (1943), Screenplay, Story
- *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), Theatre Play, Additional Writing — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/watch-on-the-rhine.md)
- *The Little Foxes* (1941), Screenplay, Theatre Play — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/the-little-foxes.md)
- *The Cowboy and the Lady* (1938), as Additional Writing
- *Dead End* (1937), Screenplay — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/dead-end.md)
- *The Spanish Earth* (1937), Writer
- *These Three* (1936), Screenplay, Theatre Play, Original Story
- *The Dark Angel* (1935), Screenplay

## Gallery

- ![Promotional portrait of Lillian Hellman, author of The Children's Hour (1935)](https://film.one/media/person/1229672/gallery-c0a230ecc584.jpg) Promotional portrait of Lillian Hellman, author of The Children's Hour (1935) — Hal Phyfe, photographer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Lillian_Hellman_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Lillian_Hellman_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Photograph of Lillian Hellman, featured in an article titled "Name In Lights" (no author credit) (1939)](https://film.one/media/person/1229672/gallery-b93c98f03361.jpg) Photograph of Lillian Hellman, featured in an article titled "Name In Lights" (no author credit) (1939) — Stage Publishing Company, Inc., no photographer credited, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fb/Lillian-Hellman-1939.jpg/1280px-Lillian-Hellman-1939.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1944: Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated), for *The North Star*
- 1942: Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (nominated), for *The Little Foxes*

### Other awards — 3 won, 2 nominated

- Paul Robeson Award 1976: Paul Robeson Award (won)
- Ladies' Home Journal Women of the Year 1975: Ladies' Home Journal Women of the Year (won)
- National Book Award 1970: National Book Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Play 1960: Tony Award for Best Play (nominated), for *Toys in the Attic*
- Tony Award for Best Musical 1957: Tony Award for Best Musical (nominated), for *Candide*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lillian-hellman