Donnelly, Dorothy (1880–1928)

American actress, dramatist, and lyricist. Born Dorothy Agnes Donnelly in New York, New York, on January 28, 1880; died on January 3, 1928; daughter of Thomas Lester Donnelly (a manager of the Grand Opera House, New York) and Sarah (Williams) Donnelly (an actress); educated at Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York; studied classical roles with her uncle, Fred Williams.

Dorothy Donnelly made her first appearance as an actress at the Murray Hill Theater in New York in August 1898; she remained with that theater for the next three years playing juvenile and leading roles. She then portrayed Mme. Alvarez in Richard Harding Davis' Soldiers of Fortune in 1901–02 and appeared in the title roles of W.B. Yeats' Kathleen na Houlihan, 1902–03, and G.B. Shaw's Candida, 1903–04. Other roles include Maja in Ibsen's When We Dead Awaken (1905), Ruth Jordan in Channing Pollock's Little Gray Lady (1906), Marion Manners in Martha Morton 's The Movers (1907), Jacqueline in Madame X (1911), and Anna Markle in The Song of Songs (1914). Following her appearance as Sarah Luskin in The Bargain, Donnelly turned to playwrighting, authoring Flora Belle (1916), Fancy Free (1918), Forbidden (1919) and Poppy (1923). She also collaborated with Charlotte E. Wells on The Riddle, Woman (1918). Most important, Donnelly wrote the book and lyrics to Blossom Time (also known as Lilac Time) which was adapted from the German in 1921, as well as The Student Prince, a musical version of Old Heidelberg, in 1924.