She is the subject of a 1999 book by Lorraine McLean Dorothy Donnelly: A Life in the Theatre.

She then wrote and directed the musical Poppy (1923) that had a successful run and was adapted for film, boosting the career of W.C. Fields.

[4] She was also a close friend of playwright Edward Sheldon and after he became bedridden assisted in transcribing, editing, and supporting his work.

Donnelly died on January 3, 1928, in her apartment at 111 East 34th Street in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan.

[6] She was also a niece of Fred Williams (née Frederick James Williams; 1829–1900), who had been stage director of Daly's Theatre, stage director of the Lyceum Theatre on Park Avenue, and dean of the faculty of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.