Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. The son of a small businessman, Miller worked in a warehouse after graduating from high school. When he had saved enough money, working for two years in an automobile parts warehouse, he attended the University of Michigan.

After graduating in English in 1938, Miller returned to New York. There he joined the Federal Theatre Project, and wrote scripts for radio programs. Miller's first play to appear on Broadway was THE MAN WHO HAD ALL THE LUCK in 1944. It closed after four performances. Three years later ALL MY SONS was produced, which won the New York Drama Critics Circle award. This play brought Miller international fame. In the 1950s Miller was subjected to scrutiny by a committee of the United States Congress investigating Communist influence in the arts. He was denied a passport to attend the Brussels premiere of his play THE CRUCIBLE.

In 1956 Miller was awarded an honorary degree at the University of Michigan, but also called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Miller admitted that he had attended certain meetings, but denied that he was a Communist.

In 1956 he married the motion-picture actress Marilyn Monroe; they divorced in 1961. Miller became one of the best-known American playwrights after WW II. But in an interview he stated that "It happens to be a very bad historical moment for playwriting, because the theater is getting more and more difficult to find actors, since television pays so much and the movies even more than that."

In 2002 Miller was honored with Spain's prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize for Literature, making him the first U.S. recipient of the award.

Miller died on February 10, 2005.