Marjorie Patterson

Marjorie Patterson (May 12, 1886 – March 11, 1948) was an American actress and author whose career spanned the early decades of the twentieth century, encompassing work in both theatre and fiction writing.

Patterson came from a notable family background. She was the only daughter of Wilson Patterson and Margaret Sherwood, and counted among her ancestors the author and critic John Neal, her great-grandfather. Her great-aunt was Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, who was a sister-in-law of Napoleon.

Her literary output began with the novel Fortunata, published by Harper & Bros. in February 1911, which received a positive review from H. L. Mencken. The book follows a young woman of Roman aristocratic lineage whose erratic behavior leads ultimately to tragedy. Patterson followed that debut with The Dust of the Road in 1913, published by Henry Holt, a work drawn from her experiences acting in England, where she spent several years on stage. A third novel, A Woman's Man, appeared in 1919.

On the stage, Patterson performed on Broadway between 1916 and 1930, with credits including The New Freedom and Pierrot the Prodigal. Her role in Pierrot the Prodigal was the title part; the production played at the Booth Theatre in New York and was produced by Winthrop Ames and Walter Knight. She also wrote and performed in the one-act play Pan in Ambush, which was published in 1921.

Patterson spent her later years in New York City, where she died of hepatitis on March 11, 1948.