Women's Health Women

Elaine Dundy Wikipedia

Image:ElaineDundy.jpg|thumb|Elaine Dundy
Elaine Dundy (born Elaine Brimberg in 1927 in New York City, New York) is an United States|American, actress, journalist, novelist, biographer, and playwright.

Dundy was born into a prosperous Jewish family, brought up in a Park Avenue (Manhattan)|Park Avenue home and educated by a governess. An honors graduate from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, Virginia|Sweet Briar, Virginia, she studied acting at drama school with future stars Rod Steiger, Tony Curtis and others. Her sister Shirley Clarke, became a leading independent filmmaker and a professor of film at UCLA.

At the end of World War II, Dundy traveled to Europe, first to live in Paris, France before settling in London, England. There, in 1950 she met the theater critic Kenneth Tynan and two weeks later moved in with him. They married in January of 1951, had a daughter, and became part of the theatrical and film elite of London and Hollywood and friends of writers such as Ernest Hemingway.

In 1958 Dundy published her first novel at a time when drugs, alcohol, and extra-marital affairs meant her marriage was falling apart. She went on to eventually beat her addictions and to enjoy a successful career in writing. In addition to novels and short story|short stories, Dundy has written for the New York Times. She is noted for her biographies of actor Peter Finch, the city of Ferriday, Louisiana, and singer Elvis Presley about whom she said: "Prior to 1977, I didn't know that Elvis was alive until he died".

Widely known for being very well connected in the entertainment industry, her books are respected for their independent views, attention to detail, and thorough research. As part of her research for the Presley book, Dundy moved from her luxurious suites in London and New York to live for five months in Presley's birthplace of Tupelo, Mississippi. Her book Elvis and Gladys was first published in 1985 and reissued in July of 2004 by the University of Mississippi|University Press of Mississippi. The Boston Globe called it "Nothing less than the best Elvis book yet" and Kirkus Reviews, "The most fine-grained Elvis bio ever."

A resident of London and Los Angeles who travels frequently to her native United States, in 2001 Elaine Dundy published her autobiography titled "Life Itself!" Her newest novel "The Old Man and Me" was released in August of 2005 by Virago Press

Last Modified:   2005-12-19