Hedda Hopper Biography

Fast Facts

• Studied singing at the Carter Conservatory of Music in Pittsburgh
• Started out as a chorus girl and amateur theater actress before making her Broadway debut in "The Motor Girl" in 1909
• Made her screen acting debut in the film "The Battle of Hearts" in 1916
• Best known as a Hollywood gossip columnist and silent film actress
• Began writing a gossip column for the Esquire Feature Syndicate in 1937 and moved what would become the hugely successful "Hedda Hopper's Hollywood" to the Los Angeles Times a year later
• Shared a longtime rivalry with another gossip columnist, Louella Parsons, although many favored Hopper because her acting experience gave her an insider's perspective
• Wrote two bestselling books titled "From Under My Hat" and "The Whole Truth and Nothing But․"
• Changed her name from Elda to Hedda, a name allegedly chosen for her by a numerologist, in 1919