Born Marion Benson Owens in San Francisco, CA. She was the most renowned female screenwriter of the twentieth century, and one of the most respected scripters of any gender. She wrote, co-wrote or adapted some 150 screenplays from 1915 to 1939, leaving a significant stamp on American movies of both the silent and sound eras. A former journalist (she was one of the first female war correspondents), Marion entered films as an actress and made the transition to writer in 1915. She scripted vehicles for Mary Pickford (who was her best friend) and Marion Davies, among others, and was especially adept at literary adaptations; the scripts for STELLA DALLAS (1925) and THE SCARLET LETTER (1926) are superb examples of book-to-film restructuring. In the early 1920s Marion directed three films from her own screenplays: THE LOVE LIGHT and JUST AROUND THE CORNER (both 1921) and THE SONG OF LOVE (1923). She was the first female to win an Academy Award for Achievement in Writing (1929-30) and for Original Story (1931-32). Visit the Internet Movie Database for a complete listing of her credits.Her third husband, from 1919 to his death in 1928, was actor Fred Thomson; her fourth, from 1930 till their divorce the following year, was director George F. Hill.  Writing (Achievement) 1929-30: THE BIG HOUSE  Writing (Original Story) 1931-32: THE CHAMP  Nominated for Writing (Original Story) 1932-33: THE PRIZEFIGHTER AND THE LADY 3 nominations, 2 Awards