Anita Loos was born in California in 1888. She began writing movie scripts and supplied film scenarios for D.W. Griffith and Douglas Fairbanks. First published in 1925,
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was a best-seller in thirteen languages and was followed by its sequel,
But Gentlemen Marry Brunettes. Anita Loos was the author of the novels
A Mouse is Born and
No Mother to Guide Her and two volumes of autobiography,
A Girl Like I and
Kiss Hollywood Good-by. She died in 1981.
Regina Barreca is a professor of English and feminist theory at the University of Connecticut. She is the editor of seven books, including The Penguin Book of Women's Humor, and the author of four others. She writes frequently for the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, and the Hartford Courant.