One of the most prolific screenwriters in the motion picture industry, Sonya Levien was born in Russia near Moscow; her family immigrated to the United States when she was a child. She graduated from New York University with a law degree but practiced law for only six months before deciding she would prefer a writing career. Levien wrote short stories and took a job as secretary to a magazine publisher. An active participant in the woman suffrage movement, she worked for one year as editor of the movement's official publication, Woman's Journal. She then joined the staff of Metropolitan magazine, eventually becoming an assistant editor. Levien married Carl Hovey, the magazine's editor, on 11 October 1917. They had two children.

Levien's short stories attracted the attention of Jesse Lasky, head of Famous Players studio, and he invited her to Hollywood in 1921. Her first scenario, Cheated Love (1921), was adapted by Levien...