By Mira Nayak
Though over a century old, the film industry is awfully male-dominated. In fact, the first Pixar movie to be directed by a woman was Turning Red (directed by Domee Shi) in 2022, nearly 37 years after the animation studio’s debut. The issue is less of a lack of interest, but an alarming amount of unwelcoming sentiment, such as underrepresentation, unfair gender pay gap, misogyny in film, and, unfortunately, even more. Women in the current film industry are paving the way for generations of female filmmakers to speak their voice. In honor of Women’s History Month, let’s go through some of the most prominent yet unrecognized women in the film industry.
Janet Gaynor
On May 16, 1929, Janet became the first woman to win an Oscar (Best Actress) at the first Academy Awards. Her original name was Laura Augusta Gainer.
Bette Davis
Proclaimed “Queen of Hollywood,” and “First Lady on the Hollywood Screen”, Bette was iconic for her cynical characters. She acted on film, television, and broadway until a year before her death, at the age of 81.
Dorothy Dandridge
The first Black woman nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and the first Black woman on the cover of Life magazine.
Halle Berry
The first African American woman to win Academy Award for Best Actress. She also portrayed Dorothy Dandridge in a biopic about her life, mirroring Dorothy’s accomplishments.
Kathryn Bigelow
The first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director for The Hurt Locker (2008).
Chloé Zhao
The second woman to win Academy Award for Best Director. Neurodivergent, Zhao views her disability as a superpower for filmmaking.
Coralie Fargeat
The first woman to be nominated for an Oscar for writing and directing a horror movie. She’s known for feminist body-horror films, such as Revenge (2017) and The Substance (2024).
Greta Gerwig
Gerwig is known for feminist films/adaptations such as Barbie 2023, Little Women (2019), and Lady Bird (2017). She achieved biggest opening weekend for a female director ($162 million) and surpassed $1 billion in global box office through Barbie.
Shirley Temple
Temple was the top grossing child actress in the 1930’s before becoming a U.S. diplomat, becoming the first female U.S. Chief of Protocol and served as the Ambassador to Ghana and Czechoslovakia. She was one of the first prominent women to openly discuss her mastectomy, which helped reduce the stigma around breast cancer.
Barbra Streisand
Streisand was first woman to win an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony).
Meryl Streep
Streep holds the most Academy Award nominations (21) and Golden Globe nominations (32+), and is considered one of the greatest actresses of all time.
Domee Shi
The first woman to solo direct a Pixar feature film. Turning Red came out in 2022, and Pixar was founded in 1986.
Sofia Coppola
The first American woman nominated for Best Director at the Oscars. She’s known for her films focusing on female adolescence, loneliness, and femininity, namely Lost in Translation (2003), Priscilla (2023), and The Virgin Suicides (1999).
Margot Robbie
Star actress turned movie producer, Robbie produces and acts in prominent female roles such as Tonya Harding in I, Tonya and Barbie in Barbie.
Ida Lupino
Considered the first female director of film noir and a producer with her own company, Lupino was an actress, director, producer and screenwriter.
Michelle Yeoh
First Asian woman to win Academy Award for Best Actress, in 2023 for Everything, Everywhere All at Once. When Yeoh was 20, she won the Miss Malaysia World pageant and starred in a TV commercial with Jackie Chan. She owns her own production company, Mythical Films.
Scarlett Johansson
Highest-grossing box office female star of all time and one of the most iconic actresses of all time alongside greatest range, taking roles from Marvel and Jurassic World to critically acclaimed films Jojo Rabbit (2019) and Marriage Story (2019).
Mo Adbudu
Recognized as “Africa’s Most Powerful Woman” by Forbes, she founded Africa’s first global black entertainment network, EbonyLife Media, landing deals with Netflix and Sony.
Barbara Broccoli
Her and her brother are co-owners of Eon Productions (UK), responsible for nearly every James Bond movie and spearheaded Daniel Craig as the iconic James Bond.
Patty Jenkins
Patty Jenkins directed Wonder Woman (2017), the highest grossing live action film directed by a woman telling an empowering story about women.
Nancy Meyers
Meyers is iconic for her well thought out romcoms, featuring mostly women over 40 finding love. Five films of Meyers grossed over $1 billion worldwide, defying the misconception that women-led stories couldn’t be impactful.
Zooey Deschanel
Deschanel is known for a plethora of talent as an actress, entrepreneur, gameshow host and half of musical duo She & Him. She’s known as the iconic Jess Day in New Girl and other roles portraying her indie-twee style.
Audrey Hepburn
Fashion icon, actress, and humanitarian, Hepburn starred in roles in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady (1964) and achieved EGOT status. She partnered with designer Hubert de Givenchy and popularized the “little black dress.” As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, Hepburn dedicated her later life to work in Africa, Asia, and South America, and eventually was rewarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work.
Clara Bow
As the “It” girl of the 1920’s, Bow established the flapper girl era, challenging societal norms of the era.
Marilyn Monroe
The iconic Monroe was 20th century’s most popular entertainer. She became a global icon for fashion, beauty, acting, pop culture, and female entrepreneurship with her company Marilyn Monroe Productions.