Biography

She and her husband Ben first became aware that the police were on their case when they were tipped off by a young actress, also called Norma, who was on her way to a party the Minellis were throwing to celebrate the arrival of their new daughter, Liza. Spotting the Barzmans having an alfresco gin and tonic, the actress told them that she had been stopped by cops at the bottom of their street and asked if she was going to visit them. Two years later, in exile, Ben spotted a photo of the actress in a newspaper. She had changed her name to Marilyn Monroe.

When, in his old age, Elia Kazan was awarded an honorary Oscar, she was one of the most vociferous and eloquent critics of the award, and was interviewed on British television about it.

She met and married screenwriter Ben Barzman. Between the years 1949 and 1976 they lived in London, Paris, and Mougins (France), having been blacklisted from Hollywood. They had seven children.

It was Dmytryk who testified about the Barzmans to HUAC in early 1951. The director had returned to the U.S. and was in prison on the Hollywood 10 contempt charge. "In order to get out of prison he named us and a lot of other people," said Barzman.

She wrote the screenplay to the 1953 Italian production "Finishing School" and episodes of "The Adventures of Robin Hood" while raising seven children.