Dorothy Heyward was a writer and dramatist who is chiefly remembered for her collaboration with her husband DuBose Heyward on the opera Porgy and Bess.

Dorothy and DuBose Heyward are known primarily for their collaboration on the play Porgy, which was first produced in 1927. Though the character and the plot grew out of DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy (1925), the play would never have taken shape had not Dorothy Heyward seen the novel's dramatic possibilities. The first draft of the play was completely her own work. Later, when DuBose Heyward collaborated with George and Ira Gershwin to create the opera Porgy and Bess (1935), she was not an active participant, but the opera follows the structure of the play so closely that she must still share some of the credit for its success. While Dorothy and DuBose Heyward were not major writers, Porgy has become a major character in American folklore...