Gladys Leonore Schmitt (May 31, 1909 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – October 3, 1972 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American writer, editor, and professor.

Described by the Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph in 1942 as one of the city's "literary lights, her second novel, David the King became a Literary Guild selection which rose to number one on national bestseller lists.

Born on Osceola Street in the Shadyside neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 31, 1909, Gladys Schmitt was a daughter of Henry and Leonore (Link) Schmitt. As a student at Pittsburgh's Schenley High School, she wrote four plays. Subsequently enrolled at the Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University), she transferred to the University of Pittsburgh after receiving a scholarship.

A member of Phi Beta Kappa, she graduated from Pitt in 1932.

On November 27, 1939, she married Simon Goldfield, whom she had met while attending Schenley High, and had one child, Betty Schmitt Culley, a niece whom they adopted.

In September 1929, Poetry Magazine published Schmitt's poem, Progeny."

Following her graduation from the University of Pittsburgh, Schmitt was hired as an editor for Scholastic Magazine, working from 1933 to 1942, first in Pittsburgh and then in New York. During this time, several of her short stories were published in Story and The Atlantic Monthly.

Employed from 1942 to 1972 at Carnegie-Mellon University, she rose to the rank of professor of English and fine arts. She was also responsible for founding the university's creative writing department in 1967.