Alice Albright Patterson was born in November 1940 to Josephine Patterson Albright, a renowned journalist and former aviatrix, and her husband, Ivan Albright, a talented artist. Growing up in Chicago, Patterson was educated at prestigious institutions such as Radcliffe College and the University of Columbia. Upon completing her education, she returned to her hometown to pursue a career in journalism, contributing to Channel 2 as a free-lance writer and penning a biography about her grandmother, Cissy Patterson, a pioneering newspaper publisher.
Patterson's personal life was marked by two marriages. Her first marriage was to James Hoge, a newspaper executive, with whom she had three children. Following their divorce, she married author Michael Arlen, and the couple relocated to New York. In 1983, Patterson's friend and fellow writer, Nora Ephron, approached her to collaborate on the screenplay for the film "Silkwood," which earned them both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Since then, Patterson has worked intermittently in the film industry while continuing to produce written works as an author.
