Helen Gahagan Douglas was not only a famous actress, but she was also a formidable politician. Her early life and career centered on her work on Broadway, where she became a celebrated actress. Subsequently, she became the first Democratic woman elected to Congress from California. Her training as an actress has helped her speak passionately about topics including equal rights for women and African Americans and worker protections. Her work led her to run against then-Senator Richard M. Nixon for a seat in Congress, and although Douglas lost, she continued her advocacy work. Helen Gahagan Douglas was born on November 25, 1900 to Walter Hamer Gahagan II and Lillian Rose Mussen Gahagan. She was one of five children. His father owned several construction and shipyards, which made the Gahagan family wealthy. When Douglas was young, she and her family moved from New Jersey to Park Slope in Brooklyn, New York. Soon after moving to New York, Douglas fell in love with acting. She dreamed of becoming an actress and especially enjoyed taking acting lessons at school. However, his father did not approve of his dream. In high school, she flunked out because she spent too much time in the drama department. Her father was angry and told her that going to college was more important than acting. Douglas listened to his father and attended Barnard College. While at Barnard, she was able to stay close to her family and Broadway. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Douglas attended college from 1920 to 1922. While in school, she and fellow student Alis De Sola wrote a play called Shadow of the Moon. Elizabeth Grimball, Douglas' mentor, produced the show. He gave Douglas the lead role of the fairy queen. Playwright Harry Wagstaff Gribble saw Douglas's performance and offered her a role in one of his plays. To accept the role, Douglas had to leave school. His father was furious. Gribble offered to talk to his father. The next day, as Douglas prepared to open as the lead in Dreams for Sale, he signed a five-year contract to star on Broadway. That night she made her debut, and the next morning the headline in the Brooklyn Eagle read, “Helen Gahagan Becomes Stage Star Overnight.” Douglas continued to act, becoming increasingly popular. Her father continued to disapprove of her career choice, but after a few years they were able to reconcile. In 1927 Douglas decided to become an opera singer. She was trained by Madame Cehanovska, a Russian singing teacher. After two years of training, Douglas made her European debut and became famous throughout Austria, Germany and Czechoslovakia. In 1930, Douglas returned to the United States. He started acting again and while starring in Tonight or Never he met Melvyn Douglas. They married in 1931. After the wedding they moved to Los Angeles. Douglas didn't like living in Hollywood. However, in 1935, she starred in the film She as the title character "She", an ice goddess. Her role inspired the Evil Queen in the Disney film Snow White. While living in California and raising his two children, Peter and Mary Helen, Douglas became involved in politics. She was shocked that many Americans did not know about Hitler's rise to power and that some Americans even supported him. Douglas also saw thousands of people move to California because the Dust Bowl had ruined the farms they worked on. The struggles Douglas saw inspired his interest in politics. She became friends with Eleanor Roosevelt and Roosevelt was 28, 1980.