12018-05-07T23:58:45+00:00Sonya Levien1plain2018-05-07T23:58:45+00:00Sonya Levien was born as Sara Opesken in 1888 in a town called Panimunik, about forty miles from Dvinsk. A year after her birth, Opesken's father, Julius was arrested for his political connections to a radical newspaper and sent to Siberia. Around six years old, Sara Opesken's grandfather began to teach the future screenwriter.
While Sara was being raised and taught by the grandfather, Julius was able to escape Siberia and journeyed to America, where he took on the name of Levien. Levien was the surname of a German who supposedly helped Julius escape. Five years later, along with the rest of her family, Sara moved into a flat in the Lower East Side.
Sara Opesken eventually would become involved with settlement work and labor union activity, continued her education in the Education Alliance and in 1905 became Rose Pastor Stoke's secretary.
Sara Levien continued her education, and in 1909 applied admission to the New York Bar. Levien, however had ambitions elsewhere. Levien's career as a lawyer did not last, as she moved more and more into writing.
Sonya Levien would become one of the highest paid screenwriters in Hollywood.
