Two months after her release from prison, Hearst wed Bernard Lee Shaw (1945–2013), a policeman whom she had met when he was part of a dozens-strong private security detail protecting her on bail. The marriage lasted until his death in 2013. They had two children, Gillian and Lydia Hearst-Shaw. Hearst became prominent on the East Coast society and charitable fundraising scene, and was particularly involved with a foundation helping children suffering from AIDS.

Patricia Campbell Hearst (born February 20, 1954), granddaughter of American publishing magnate william Randolph Hearst, became internationally known for events following her 1974 kidnapping and physical violation by a domestic American terrorist group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army. Hearst was found nineteen months after being abducted, by which time she was a fugitive wanted for serious crimes. She was held in custody, despite speculation that her family's resources would prevent her from spending time in jail. At her trial, the prosecution suggested that she had joined the Symbionese Liberation Army of her own volition. Hearst said she had been raped and threatened with death. She was found guilty of bank robbery. Hearst's sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter and she was later pardoned by President Bill Clinton.

On March 5, 1973, Donald DeFreeze escaped from prison. Radical penal Activists and Future SLA members Russell Little and william Wolfe took DeFreeze to Patricia Soltysik's house. The SLA was led by DeFreeze, who, after a prison acquaintance named Wheeler left, was the only African American in the group. By the time the group became active, most of the members of the tiny group were women, some of whom have, like Soltysik and her roommate Nancy Ling Perry, been described as in lesbian relationships. The members included william and Emily Harris and Angela Atwood.

Escaping from the area, Hearst and the Harrises hijacked two cars, abducting the owners. One, a young man, found Hearst so personable that he was reluctant to report the incident. At the trial he testified to her having discussed the effectiveness of cyanide-tipped bullets, and repeatedly asking if he was okay. Police had surrounded their main base by the time they made their way back and on May 17, 1974, the six SLA members inside died in a gunfight. It was at first thought that Hearst had also perished. Subsequently her father publicly worried that she might be killed in revenge; to allay his fears, the abduction victim gave police a more complete account and a warrant was issued for Hearst's arrest for several felonies, including two counts of kidnapping.

At the time of her arrest, Patty Hearst weighed only 87 pounds (40 kg) and was described by Dr. Margaret Singer in October 1975 as "a low-IQ, low-affect zombie". Shortly after her arrest, there were some clear signs of trauma and several DSM-5 classifications: her IQ was measured as 112, whereas it had previously been 130; there were huge gaps in her memory regarding her pre-Tania life; she was smoking heavily; she had nightmares. Without a mental illness or defect, a person was held fully responsible for any Criminal action not done under duress, defined as a clear and present threat of death or serious injury. Securing an acquittal on the basis of brainwashing would be completely unprecedented.

Hearst suffered a collapsed lung in prison (the beginning of a series of medical problems) and underwent emergency surgery, which prevented her from appearing to testify against the Harrises on eleven state charges including robbery, kidnapping, and assault; she was also arraigned for those charges. Hearst, who was being held in solitary confinement for security reasons, was granted bail for an appeal in November 1976, on condition she was protected on bond. Dozens of Bodyguards were hired by her father.

Hearst's bail was revoked in May 1978 when appeals failed and the Supreme Court declined to hear her case. The prison took no special security measures for Hearst's safety until she found a dead rat on her bunk the day william and Emily Harris were arraigned for her abduction. The Harrises were convicted on a simple kidnapping charge (as opposed to the more serious kidnapping for ransom or kidnapping with bodily injury); they were released after serving a total eight years each. Although there were some articles in legal journals about the issues in the case the definition of duress in law remained unchanged.

Her memoir, titled Every Secret Thing, was published in 1981. In contradiction of assertions that she had been given immunity on the Crocker robbery, the book caused authorities to consider bringing a new prosecution against her. In a 2009 interview for an NBC program on the case, she described the prosecutor's suggestions that she had been in a consensual relationship with Wolfe as an insult to rape victims and "outrageous".

American Composer Anthony David wrote TANIA, an opera based on the kidnapping of Patty Hearst with a libretto by Michael John LaChiusa which premiered at the American Music Theater Festival in 1992.

Hearst has appeared in feature films for Director John Waters, who cast her in Cry-Baby, Serial Mom, Pecker, A Dirty Shame, and Cecil B. DeMented. With Cordelia Frances Biddle, Hearst collaborated on the writing of a novel titled Murder at San Simeon (Scribner, 1996), based upon the death of Thomas H. Ince on her grandfather's yacht.

President Jimmy Carter's commutation of her federal sentence to the 22 months served freed Hearst eight months before she would have had a parole hearing. The 1979 release was under stringent conditions and she remained on probation for the state sentence on the sporting goods store plea. President Ronald Reagan reportedly gave serious consideration to pardoning Hearst. She recovered full rights when President Bill Clinton granted her a pardon on January 20, 2001, his last day in office.

Hearst's kidnapping was partly opportunistic as she lived close to the SLA hideout. According to testimony, the main intention was to leverage the Hearst family's political influence to free two SLA members arrested for the killing of Oakland's first black superintendent, Marcus Foster. Faced with the failure to free the imprisoned men, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. In response, Hearst's father took out a loan and arranged the immediate donation of $2 million worth of food to the poor of the Bay Area. The distribution descended into chaos and the SLA refused to release Hearst.

Her first Lawyer, Terence Hallinan, had advised Hearst not to talk to anyone, including Psychiatrists. He advocated a defense of involuntary intoxication: that the SLA had given her drugs that affected her judgment and recollection. Her new Lawyer, F. Lee Bailey, asserted a defense of coercion or duress affecting intent at the time of the offense.—this was similar to the brainwashing-type excuse that Hallinan had warned was not a defense in law. Hearst gave long interviews to various Psychiatrists.

Hearst and her dogs have participated in dog shows, and on February 16, 2015, her Shih Tzu, Rocket, won the "Toy" category at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. At the 2017 show, Hearst's French bulldog, Tuggy, won best of breed, and Rubi won best of opposite sex.