Biography: Ellen Stewart was born on November 7, 1919 in Chicago, Illinois. She studied teaching at Arkansas State College. She started La MaMa Experimental Theater Club in the basement of a tenement on East Ninth Street in 1962. At the time, she was a dress designer. Some LaMaMa plays moved to Broadway and had extended runs in commercial Off Broadway houses. She put on about 70 productions a year. She had a son, Larry Hovell, and an adopted son, Duk Hyung Yoo.

Trivia:
The marquees of Broadway theaters were dimmed in her honor on January 18, 2011.