Early Life
Allen was Jacqueline Presson in San Angelo, Texas, the only child of May (née Miller), a buyer, and Albert Jeffrey Presson, a department store merchant. She was "never particularly fond of her given name", and decided to use her first initial when writing. According to the Dictionary of Literary Biography the more elaborate form, Jay, is the work of a Social Security Clerk.
She would spend every Saturday and Sunday in the movie house, from one o’clock until somebody dragged her out at seven. From that time on movies became very important to her, and Allen knew she wouldn't be staying in West Texas. Allen attended Miss Hockaday’s School for Young Ladies in Dallas for a couple of years, but came away with, in her words, as "having had no education to speak of." She skipped college and at eighteen left home to become an actress. In New York, her career lasted "for about twenty-five minutes" Allen says, when she realized that she only liked rehearsals and the first week of performance, and would rather be "out there" where the decisions were being made.
Read more about this topic: Jay Presson Allen
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