Fannie Flagg: Fried Green Tomatoes Fannie Flagg, the author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, has had an astounding life. As a child she was named Patricia Neal and was a native to Birmingham, Alabama. She was born there in September of 1941, and was the daughter of a small business owner named William H. Neal. Even when Patricia was known lovingly as the "peanut" she was a bigger handful than an elephant. She was an energetic and lively girl with a powerful imagination. The author claims it spelled trouble, or future writer. Fannie Flagg's writing and show business career began in the fifth grade when she wrote, produced, directed