Donald Spoto

Donald Spoto (born June 28, 1941) is an American biographer and theologian. He is best known for his best-selling biographies of film and theatre celebrities such as Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier, Tennessee Williams, Ingrid Bergman, James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Marlene Dietrich, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Alan Bates. He has also written biographical accounts of the House of Windsor from the Victorian Era through to Diana, Princess of Wales and of religious figures such as Jesus, and Saint Francis of Assisi, which was made into a television program by Faith & Values Media.

A native of New Rochelle, New York, Spoto graduated from Iona Preparatory School in 1959 and received his B.A. summa cum laude from Iona College in 1963 and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Theology (New Testament studies) from Fordham University in 1966 and 1970, respectively. He taught theology (Christian mysticism, and Biblical literature) at Fairfield University, at the College of New Rochelle and at the New School for Social Research from 1966 until 1986 and then at University of Southern California, beginning in 1987. In addition, he was a visiting lecturer at the British Film Institute and the National Film Theatre in London from 1980 until 1986.