Hearst, Patty (1954–)

Heiress to the Hearst newspaper empire, Patty Hearst is best known as a kidnapping victim turned terrorist. As a member of a small, leftist terrorist group in California, Hearst, along with her kidnappers, went to prison in 1976 for bank robbery.

The granddaughter of legendary publishing tycoon William Randolph Hearst, Patty Hearst was raised by her parents to be privileged but not spoiled by their family's wealth. In 1974, while attending college at University of California, Berkeley, and living with her fiancé, Steven Weed, her life suddenly changed dramatically. On the evening of February 4, members of [Page 165]the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) barged into their apartment, injured Weed badly, and kidnapped Hearst. The SLA held her captive at their safe house for about two months.

Led by a man called Cinque after his escape from prison, the SLA was a radical terrorist group campaigning ...