[2] Her father, a hussar officer named Stefan Johann, emigrated with his family to the United States in 1911.

[4] Later, she appeared with the Theatre Guild Repertory Company in touring productions of Peer Gynt, The Devil's Disciple and He Who Gets Slapped.

[6] She turned down the lead in Universal's 1929 theatrical version of Show Boat, so she could star in the play, Machinal, with a young Clark Gable.

Johann had been a great admirer of Griffith and was delighted to star in the film, which was inspired in part by his own struggle with alcoholism.

"[5] When the studio tried to make her appear in Thirteen Women, which she considered a tawdry melodrama, Johann asked RKP to be released from her contract.

[citation needed] After seven films, she quit to work in theatre again, collaborating with John Houseman, to whom she was married at the time, and with Orson Welles.

[8][4] Under the pen name, Joan Wolfe, she wrote the scripts Emily's Week and The Raw Deal.

[8] Johann later spent a lot of time doing community work and taught acting classes for children out of her home.

[6] In the 1970s she filmed a show called Zita and Her Friends, which was aimed at helping parents and children have better communication and stronger relationships.

[citation needed] In an act reminiscent of the Roman orators before political speeches, she would call upon the spirits of the people she was to portray to ask that they inspire her work.

When the couple married, Houseman was a grain dealer like his father, but his business career was wiped out by the Wall Street crash just weeks after the wedding.

[citation needed] During her film career, they lived in Malibu, where Johann enjoyed painting, reading and playing violin.

[citation needed] After an only seven day courtship, Johann married retired film producer, John McCormick, on 9 July 1935.

[citation needed] During World War II, Johann raised money for war-related charities, and organized performances for American soldiers.

[6] For her third marriage, Johann wanted to find someone who was completely out of the industry, so she married Bernard Shedd (Schetnitz), an economist and publisher.