Dorothy Heyward

In addition to several works of her own, she co-authored the play Porgy (1927) with her husband DuBose Heyward, adapting it from his novel of the same name.

She was born in Wooster, Ohio, as Dorothy Kuhns, and lived in New York, Puerto Rico, and Washington, DC, throughout her childhood years.

[3][2] In 1924, Heyward wrote her first play, The Dud, for which she won a Harvard Prize and participated in Dr. George Pierce Baker's Workshop 47.

[6] When her husband was writing his novel Porgy, Dorothy Heyward saw dramatic possibilities in the story.

[7] This was seen as a controversial decision during its time, when black characters were almost always portrayed by white actors in blackface.