Anita Loos
A razor-witted pioneer who broke into the Hollywood boys' club and defined the archetype of the clever, gold-digging flapper.
1889–1981 (age 92)·American screenwriter, playwright, author, actress, and television producer·Birthday: April 26·The Lost Generation
Biography
Anita Loos entered the film industry when it was still inventing itself, selling her first scenario to D.W. Griffith in 1912 and becoming Hollywood's first salaried female screenwriter. With a mind as sharp as the bobbed hair she helped popularize, she navigated the silent era's chaos with savvy and a satirical eye. Her 1925 novel 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' was a cultural detonation, narrated by the deceptively shrewd Lorelei Lee; it was a bestselling send-up of Jazz Age materialism and male folly. Loos never stopped working, transitioning seamlessly into sound films, Broadway (adapting 'Gigi'), and television. Her career, spanning over five decades, was a masterclass in professional longevity and wit, proving that a woman could not just survive but shape the entertainment industry from within.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Anita was born in 1889, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Anita Was Born
The biggest hits of 1889
Anita's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1889Born
Eiffel Tower opens in Paris
President: Benjamin Harrison
1894Started school
President: Grover Cleveland
1902Became a teenager
The eruption of Mount Pelee kills 30,000 in Martinique
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could drive
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1907Could vote
Financial panic grips Wall Street
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1910Turned 21
Halley's Comet makes its closest approach
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 30
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 40
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1939Turned 50
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 60
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1959Turned 70
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1969Turned 80
Apollo 11: humans walk on the Moon; Woodstock festival
Gas: $0.35/galHome: $15,550Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Sugar, Sugar" — The ArchiesBest Picture: Midnight Cowboy
1981Died at 92
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
Key Achievements
- Authored the seminal Jazz Age novel 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes', which sold over 100,000 copies in its first year.
- Became the first credited female staff screenwriter in Hollywood, hired by D.W. Griffith in 1912.
- Wrote the screenplay for the acclaimed 1939 film adaptation of Clare Boothe Luce's 'The Women'.
- Successfully adapted Colette's 'Gigi' for the Broadway stage in 1951, prior to the famous film musical.
Did You Know?
She wrote the subtitles for D.W. Griffith's controversial epic 'Intolerance' (1916).
Her husband, John Emerson, often took public credit for her work, a arrangement she tolerated for business reasons.
She was a close friend and confidante of author H.L. Mencken, who inspired the character of Henry Spoffard in 'Gentlemen Prefer Blonses'.
Loos claimed she wrote her famous novel on a train trip across the United States.
“I've been poor and I've been rich. Rich is better.”
