Born in Birmingham, Alabama on September 21, 1944 (some sources say 1941) Patricia Neal would later change her professional name to Fannie Flagg as there was already an Oscar-winning actress named Patricia Neal.

In the 1960’s, after a brief stint co-hosting a locally produced “Morning Show” in Alabama, she was hired as a staff writer for Allen Funt’s ‘Candid Camera’. She would later become Funt’s co-host during the 1970’s. Also during the 70’s the very funny Flagg became a fixture on game show panels; most memorably for her appearances on ‘Match Game’. She also appeared in a number of tv shows such as an episode of Wonder Woman and also Harper Valley PTA as well as playing the role of Nurse Wilkins in the movie ‘Grease’. During this decade Flagg stopped writing because as she would confess years later she was severely dyslexic and felt embarrassed and discouraged from writing.



It wasn’t until the 1980’s that she began writing again and has had several books published, including ‘Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man’, ‘Welcome to the World, Baby Girl’, and of course her most well-known novel, ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café’ which would later be adapted for the movie ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’. Fannie Flagg would also be nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay adaptation.



In her personal life, Fannie Flagg is a lesbian and was once romantically linked to author Rita Mae Brown; in fact it was Rita Mae who outed Flagg in her autobiography and described a popular tv actress (without mentioning names) with whom Flagg had been living with for several years before she became involved with Rita Mae. The identity of this actress for years has been rumored to be Susan Flannery (Days of Our Lives, The Towering Inferno, Dallas, The Bold and the Beautiful) but neither Flagg nor Flannery have ever confirmed or denied it. According to a 2009 interview with Rita Mae, Fannie still hasn’t forgiven her for outing her.

Ms. Flagg divides her time between between homes in California and Alabama and continues to write; her latest novel is ‘The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion’.