born Dec. 5, 1934, Sacramento, Calif., U.S.
U.S. novelist and essayist.
Her writing explores disorder and personal and social unrest. Her first novel was published in 1963; later novels include Play It as It Lays (1970), A Book of Common Prayer (1977), Democracy (1984), and The Last Thing He Wanted (1996). Her essay collections Slouching Towards Bethlehem (1968) and The White Album (1979) are perceptive, clear-eyed analyses of American culture. With her husband, John Gregory Dunne, she has written a number of screenplays, including A Star Is Born (1976).