Sonya returned to America in 1914 and focused her creative efforts on writing. She sent stories to a number of publications including
Saturday Evening Post, Collier’s, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Harpers, Cosmopolitan, Atlantic Monthly, and
Century. By the end of 1921,
Famous Players–Lasky bought two of her stories "The Heart of Youth" and "Baby Doll" paying her $2500 and $3000 respectively. Feedback for Baby Doll was mixed, but was eventually made into the film
The Top of New York. These stories gave Sonya the opportunity of a contract: she would receive $24,000 her first year there and receive a raise of $5000 each year for five consequent years. This led her to move west, to Hollywood, leaving her family behind in New York. Here she received an editorial position at ''
McClure's Magazine. Shortly after, in fall of 1924, Famous Players–Lasky requested she adapt a novel, Salome of the Tenements'', for the screen, the story of which actually paralleled Sonya's own life story. She made a great many changes to the plot, however reviews for the film highlighted the directing and not the script work. Next, she did scenario editing work at Samuel Goldwyn Pictures. For this job, she attended Broadway plays and would find ways to adapt them into films. By this time, her husband's editing work had ended and they decided to move together this time to Hollywood. He would edit stories for
C.B. DeMille and Sonya would write scenarios. Unfortunately Carl would not do so well in Hollywood, unable to find another job after DeMille. Sonya found herself with regular work and as the main breadwinner in the family. Despite being a woman, Sonya managed to avoid being categorized as someone who wrote only films for women. She was experienced in all genres (null Western or Gangster films.) Her forte came in adapting outside material for film. She was hired by C.B. DeMille in August 1926 for
Metropolitan Pictures and
Pathé. She worked for him until June 1928 and during this time experimented in genre. In autumn, she signed with
Columbia Pictures, where she wrote a number of features until March 1929. She was elected to the board of The Writer's Club and in May 1929 was offered a contract at
Fox Film Corp. She would stay with them until 1939. Nonetheless, Sonya became one of the top writers which allowed her to work alongside big stars and well-known directors. In the years 1929–1935, she would work on an estimated six screenplays a year, receiving about five credits. For Fox, she penned a detective thriller
Behind that Curtain, featuring
Charlie Chan. She worked at length with
Frank Borzage on
Lucky Star, only to have it be labelled Frank Borzage's
Lucky Star. Sonya helped not only Borzage, but also
Will Rogers, transition to sound films. She also collaborated with
S.N. Behrman in three of the next six projects she would assist on. Levien was Fox's highest-paid female screenwriter during the 1930s. Her films were also known for dealing with family conflicts. In 1933, still employed by Fox Studios, Sonya would receive an
Oscar nomination for
State Fair. She penned John Ford's first
Technicolor film in 1939,
Drums Along the Mohawk. By 1955, she had won an
Academy Award for
Interrupted Melody for MGM. In fact, she was presented with the first Laurel Award presented from the Screenwriters Guild of America. Her last screen credits included
Jeanne Eagels from 1957 and in 1960, she would receive her final screen credit for Pepe. == Personal life ==