Women Film Directors who last directed before 2003

1. Ida Lupino

Ida was born in London to a show business family. In 1932, her mother took Ida with her to an audition and Ida got the part her mother wanted. The picture was Her First Affaire (1932). Ida, a bleached blonde, went to Hollywood in 1934 playing small, insignificant parts. Peter Ibbetson (1935) was ...

2. Shonda Rhimes

Producer | Grey's Anatomy

Shonda Lynn Rhimes is an African-American producer, author and screenwriter. She is known for working on the Britney Spears and Zoe Saldana film Crossroads, Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice, the Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews film The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement and the Halle ...

3. Elaine May

Actress | Small Time Crooks

Elaine May (born under the name Elaine Iva Berlin) is an American actress, comedian, film director, playwright, and screenwriter from Philadelphia. Her professional career started in the 1950s and is still ongoing. She has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. She ...

4. Delphine Seyrig

Actress | The Day of the Jackal

Delphine was born in Beirut on the 10th April 1932 into an intellectual Protestant family. Her Alsatian father, Henri Seyrig, was the director of the Archaeological Institute and later France's cultural attaché in New York during World War Two. Her Swiss mother, Hermine De Saussure, was an adept of...

5. Alice Guy

Director | The Woman of Mystery

The world's first female filmmaker, French-born Alice Guy entered the film business in 1896 as a secretary at Gaumont, a manufacturer of movie cameras and projectors who had purchased a "cinématographer" from its inventors, the Lumiere brothers. The next year Gaumont became the world's first motion...

6. Sandy Wilson

Director | My American Cousin

Sandy Wilson was born in 1947 in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. She is a director and writer, known for My American Cousin (1985), Harmony Cats (1992) and American Boyfriends (1989).

7. Leni Riefenstahl

Producer | Das blaue Licht - Eine Berglegende aus den Dolomiten

Leni Riefenstahl's show-biz experience began with an experiment: she wanted to know what it felt like to dance on the stage. Success as a dancer gave way to film acting when she attracted the attention of film director Arnold Fanck, subsequently starring in some of his mountaineering pictures. With...

8. Inessa Kovalevskaya

Director | Skazka o pope i o rabotnike ego Balde

Inessa Kovalevskaya was born on March 1, 1933. She is a director and writer, known for The Tale of the Priest and of His Workman Balda (1973), Pictures from the Exhibition (1984) and Stories from My Childhood (1998).

9. Stephanie Rothman

Writer | Terminal Island

Writer/director Stephanie Rothman was one of the few female filmmakers who specialized in low-budget drive-in exploitation fare in the '60s and '70s. Her movies are distinguished by gutsy, strong-willed and sympathetic women main characters and a radical libertarian feminist point of view. ...

10. Evelyn Lambart

Animation_department | Begone Dull Care

Evelyn Lambart was born on July 23, 1914 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. She was a director, known for Begone Dull Care (1950), Family Tree (1950) and Short and Suite (1959). She died on April 3, 1999.

11. Tatyana Lioznova

Director | Tri topolya na Plyushchikhe

Tatyana Lioznova was born on July 20, 1924 in Moscow, RSFSR, USSR [now Russia]. She was a director and assistant director, known for Three Poplars on Plyuschikha Street (1968), Karnaval (1982) and Konets sveta s posleduyushchim simpoziumom (1987). She died on September 29, 2011 in Moscow, Russia.

12. Asta Nielsen

Actress | Hamlet

Danish leading woman of German films who became one of the greatest stars of the silent era. A native of the Copenhagen suburb of Vesterbro, Nielsen was the daughter of a coppersmith and a washerwoman, both of whom died before Nielsen was fifteen. Her stage debut came as a child in the chorus of ...

13. Dorothy Arzner

Director | Christopher Strong

Dorothy Arzner, the only woman director during the "Golden Age" of Hollywood's studio system--from the 1920s to the early 1940s and the woman director with the largest oeuvre in Hollywood to this day--was born January 3, 1897 (some sources put the year as 1900), in San Francisco, California, to a ...

14. Germaine Dulac

Director | Âme d'artiste

The daughter of a cavalry captain, she was raised by a grandmother in Paris, where she studied various forms of art with an emphasis on music and the opera. In 1905 she married engineer-novelist Marie-Louis Albert-Dulac and under his influence veered toward journalism. As one of the leading radical...

15. Maya Deren

Director | Meshes of the Afternoon

Maya Deren came to the USA in 1922 as Eleanora Derenkowsky. Together with her father Solomon Derenkowsky, a psychiatrist, and her mother Maria Fidler, an artist, she fled the pogroms organized by the Bolsheviks against the Jews. She studied journalism and political science at the Syracuse ...

16. Lois Weber

Director | Suspense

Lois Weber, who had been a street-corner evangelist before entering motion pictures in 1905, became the first American woman movie director of note, and a major one at that. Herbert Blaché, the husband of Frenchwoman Alice Guy, the first woman to direct a motion picture (and arguably, the first ...

17. Shirley Clarke

Director | The Cool World

Shirley Clarke is an important figure in the history of mid-20th century independent cinema. Born Shirley Marion Brimberg to Samuel Nathan and Florence (Rosenberg) Brimberg, she was the eldest of their three daughters. She grew up in a wealthy family. Her father, who was born in present-day Belarus...

18. Marvin Breckinridge

Director | The Forgotten Frontier

Marvin Breckinridge was born on October 5, 1905. She was a director and cinematographer, known for The Forgotten Frontier (1931). She was married to Jefferson Patterson. She died on December 11, 2002 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

19. Liane Brandon

Director | Once Upon a Choice

Liane Brandon is an award winning independent filmmaker, photographer and University of Massachusetts/Amherst Professor Emeritus. She was one of the first independent women filmmakers to emerge from the Women's Movement.

During that time she was a member of Newsreel film collective and Bread and ...

20. Dorothy Davenport

Actress | Human Wreckage

The Davenport family was well known in theatrical circles. Her aunt, Fanny Davenport was considered one of the greatest stage actresses of her time and her father, Harry Davenport, was a Broadway star before later venturing into movies. Her mother, Alice Davenport, was a respected Broadway and film...

21. Joyce Wieland

Director | The Far Shore

Joyce Wieland was born on June 30, 1931 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was a director and editor, known for The Far Shore (1976), Sailboat (1967) and 1933 (1967). She was married to Michael Snow. She died on June 27, 1998 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

22. Barbara Loden

Actress | Wanda

A one-time pin-up beauty and magazine story model, Barbara Loden studied acting in New York in the early 50s and was on the Broadway boards within the decade. She was discovered for films by legendary producer/director Elia Kazan who was impressed with what she did in a small role as Montgomery ...

23. Birgit Hein

Director | Die unheimlichen Frauen

Birgit Hein was born on August 6, 1942 in Berlin, Germany. She was a director and writer, known for Die unheimlichen Frauen (1992), La moderna poesia (2000) and Baby, I Will Make You Sweat (1995). She was married to Wilhelm Hein. She died on February 23, 2023 in Berlin, Germany.

24. Nelly Kaplan

Writer | Charles et Lucie

Nelly Kaplan was born on April 11, 1931 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a writer and director, known for Charles and Lucie (1979), Papa, the Lil' Boats (1971) and A Very Curious Girl (1969). She died on November 12, 2020 in Geneva, Canton de Genève, Switzerland.

25. Lizzie Borden

Director | Working Girls

Lizzie Borden was born on February 3, 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. She is a director and writer, known for Working Girls (1986), Born in Flames (1983) and To Die Quietly (1997).

26. Safi Faye

Director | Mossane

Safi Faye was born on November 22, 1943 in Dakar, Senegal. She was a director and writer, known for Mossane (1996), Fad'jal (1979) and Letter from My Village (1976). She died on February 22, 2023 in Paris, France.

27. Anne Mungai

Director | Saïkati

Anne Mungai is known for Saïkati (1992), Promise of Love (2000) and Tough Choices (1998).

28. Kinuyo Tanaka

Actress | Joyû Sumako no koi

Tanaka Kinuyo was a highly regarded and prolific actress best known for her films with director Mizoguchi Kenji. She was immersed in the world of film having received her start in the world of entertainment at age fourteen, being a filmmaker herself, being the cousin of director Kobayashi Masaki ...

29. Lotte Reiniger

Director | Silhouetten

Lotte Reiniger was born on June 2, 1899 in Berlin, Germany. She was a director and writer, known for Silhouetten (1936), Der Graf von Carabas (1935) and Lotte Reiniger - The Fairy Tale Films (1961). She was married to Carl Koch. She died on June 19, 1981 in Dettenhausen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

30. Mai Zetterling

Actress | The Witches

Mai Zetterling was born in Sweden in 1925, and lived briefly in Australia while still a child. She's known as a director and actor and trained on the Stockholm repertory stage, she began appearing in war-era films starting in her teens. Following her debut in Lasse Maja (1941), she made quite an ...

31. Shamim Ara

Actress | Jio Aur Jeene Do

Shamim Ara is a renowned film actress, film producer and film director of Pakistan. She was born in British India at Aligarh in 1938. Her father's name was Syed Ali Ahmad and her maternal grandmother's name was Iqbal Begum who played a very active role in developing Shamim Ara's film career in ...

32. Forugh Farrokhzad

Editor | Khaneh siah ast

Farugh Farrokhzad was primarily a poet. Indeed, she is regarded as one of the most important poets of the twentieth century in Iran, which has a millennium of poetic tradition behind it. Although she only made one film, the 22 minute so-called documentary "The House is Black", this work is ...

33. Jacqueline Audry

Director | Olivia

At the time when women directors make more and more their presence felt on the French scene, the importance of Jacqueline Audry cannot be overstated. All today's daring Metteuses En Scene are certainly her psychic daughters as they are Agnès Varda's. Audry, born in 1908, began to direct long before...

34. Marguerite Duras

Writer | Le camion

Ms. Duras was born in southern Vietnam and lost her father at age 4. The family savings of 20 years bought the family a small plot in Cambodia, but everything was lost in a single season's flooding. The disaster killed her mother as a result. After high school in Saigon, Ms. Duras left Indochina to...

35. Elvira Notari

Director | Ritorna all'onda

Elvira Notari, born Maria Elvira Giuseppa Coda, in Salerno was Italy's earliest and most prolific female filmmaker, made over sixty feature films and about a hundred shorts and documentaries. Her parents was of modest social origins. She was allowed to attend school and pursue an education at the ...

36. Edith Carlmar

Director | Ung frue forsvunnet

Edith Carlmar was born on November 15, 1911 in Oslo, Norway. She was an actress and director, known for A Young Woman Missing (1953), The Wayward Girl (1959) and Death Is a Caress (1949). She was married to Otto Carlmar. She died on May 17, 2003 in Oslo, Norway.

37. Manuela Viegas

Editor | Glória

Manuela Viegas was born on October 13, 1957 in Porto, Portugal. She is an editor and writer, known for Glória (1999), O Lugar do Morto (1984) and Haircut (1995).

38. Ana Mariscal

Actress | Segundo López, aventurero urbano

Ana Mariscal was born on July 31, 1923 in Madrid, Spain. She was an actress and director, known for Segundo López, aventurero urbano (1953), Una sombra en la ventana (1945) and Un hombre va por el camino (1949). She was married to Valentín Javier. She died on March 28, 1995 in Madrid, Spain.

39. Josefina Molina

Director | Esquilache

Josefina Molina was born on November 14, 1936 in Córdoba, Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain. She is a director and writer, known for Esquilache (1989), The Most Natural Thing (1991) and Entre naranjos (1998).

40. Pilar Miró

Director | El perro del hortelano

Born to a military family. Attends law studies before starting a newspaper career. In 1960 starts on TV. Joins the Socialist Party in 1976 and conducts the electoral campaign in 1982 and in the same year she is designated General Director of Cinema. Resigning in 1985, the next year she joins the ...

41. Jane Arden

Writer | Anti-Clock

Jane Arden was born in Wales in 1927 and left for London in her teens.

She trained at RADA and quickly began working as an actress and playwright. It was there that she met her future husband, Philip Saville, who is now perhaps most known for his work Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) and The Life and...

42. Margery Wilson

Actress | Insinuation

Margery Wilson was born on October 31, 1896 in Gracey, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress and director, known for Insinuation (1922), The Offenders (1924) and The Clodhopper (1917). She was married to Otto Meek, William Williamson and Vance Link Bushnell. She died on January 21, 1986 in Arcadia, ...

43. Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus

Editor | Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes

Beate Mainka-Jellinghaus was born on July 27, 1936. She is an editor, known for Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972), The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974) and Fitzcarraldo (1982).

44. Caroline Thompson

Writer | Edward Scissorhands

Caroline Thompson was born on April 23, 1956 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Addams Family (1991) and The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). She is married to Steve Nicolaides. She was previously married to Henry ...

45. Donatella Baglivo

Director | Un poeta nel Cinema: Andreij Tarkovskij

Donatella Baglivo was born on May 18, 1946 in Tricase, Lecce, Italy. She is a director and editor, known for Un poeta nel Cinema: Andreij Tarkovskij (1984), Hollywood Dearest (1988) and Andrey Tarkovsky in Nostalghia (1984).

46. Oja Kodar

Actress | Jaded

Oja Kodar was born in 1941 in Dubrava kraj Zagreba, Croatia, Yugoslavia [now Croatia]. She is an actress and writer, known for Jaded (1989), The Other Side of the Wind (2018) and The Deep (1970).

47. Valerie A. Robins

Director | Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker

Valerie A. Robins was born on December 14, 1947 in Ealing, London, England, UK. Valerie A. is a director and producer, known for Preminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker (1991).

48. Binka Zhelyazkova

Director | Poslednata duma

Binka Zhelyazkova was born on July 15, 1923 in the town of Svilengrad, Bulgaria. She studied theater at the National Theater Institute in Sofia. Her career as a film director began in 1957 when she co-directed her first feature film Life Goes Quietly By... with her husband Hristo Ganev.

At the end ...

49. Gwendolyn Audrey Foster

Director | Dada Ship

Gwendolyn Audrey Foster is known for Dada Ship (2018) and Women Who Made the Movies (1992). She is married to Wheeler Winston Dixon.

50. Dale Ann Stieber

Director | Hollywood Mavericks

Dale Ann Stieber is known for Hollywood Mavericks (1990), In Search of Kundun with Martin Scorsese (1998) and Unfinished Business (1987).

51. Helen Grace

Producer | Good Arrows

Helen Grace trained as a producer and director, and has worked on the production and post production of many UK independent feature films of various genres and also in an advisory capacity on several productions with other companies. She has also worked for independent distribution companies on ...

52. Jamika Ajalon

Actress | Go Fish

Jamika Ajalon is known for Go Fish (1994), Who wants to be my horse? (2019) and Introduction to Cultural Skit-zo-frenia (1993).

53. Anne Cottringer

Camera_department | Doll's Eye

Anne Cottringer was born on May 28, 1952 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. She is a cinematographer and director, known for Doll's Eye (1983), People to People (1983) and The Song of the Shirt (1979).

54. Carol Ashley

Visual_effects | Shark Tale

Carol Ashley is known for Shark Tale (2004), Flushed Away (2006) and Stuart Little (1999).

55. Dianne Oliva-Day

Director | As Time Goes By

Dianne Oliva-Day is known for As Time Goes By (2002).

56. Elda Tattoli

Actress | La Cina è vicina

Elda Tattoli was born in 1929 in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. She was an actress and director, known for China Is Near (1967), Pianeta Venere (1972) and Canto d'amore (1982). She died in 2005 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

57. Jean Bach

Director | The Spitball Story

Jean Bach was born on September 27, 1918 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She was a director and writer, known for The Spitball Story (1997), A Great Day in Harlem (1994) and Charlie Rose (1991). She was married to Bob Bach and Shorty Sherock. She died on May 27, 2013 in New York City, New York, USA.

58. Janice Karman

Writer | Alvin & the Chipmunks

Janice Karman was born on May 21, 1954 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is a writer and producer, known for Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983), The Chipmunk Adventure (1987) and Alvin and the Chipmunks (2007). She has been married to Ross Bagdasarian Jr. since September 27, 1980. They have two ...

59. Jeanne Moreau

Actress | Jules et Jim

When people gave Louis Malle credit for making a star of Jeanne Moreau in Elevator to the Gallows (1958) immediately followed by The Lovers (1958), he would point out that Moreau by that time had already been "recognized as the prime stage actress of her generation." She had made it to the Comédie ...

60. Joy Batchelor

Producer | Animal Farm

Joy Batchelor was born on May 22, 1914 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was a producer and director, known for Animal Farm (1954), New Schools (1947) and Ruddigore (1966). She was married to John Halas. She died on May 14, 1991 in London, England, UK.

61. Katja Rupé

Actress | Sternsteinhof

Katja Rupé was born on September 18, 1949 in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. She is an actress and director, known for Sternsteinhof (1976), La seconda notte (1986) and Germany in Autumn (1978).

62. Larisa Shepitko

Director | Voskhozhdenie

Larisa Shepitko was born on January 6, 1938 in Bakhmut, Ukrainian SSR, USSR [now Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine]. She was a director and writer, known for The Ascent (1977), Heat (1963) and You and Me (1971). She was married to Elem Klimov. She died on July 2, 1979 in near Redkino, Kalinin Oblast...

63. Kristine Peterson

Assistant_director | Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Kristine Peterson is known for Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), Slaves to the Underground (1997) and Tremors (1990).

64. Lorenza Mazzetti

Director | Together

Lorenza Mazzetti was born on July 26, 1927 in Rome, Lazio, Italy. She was a director and writer, known for Together (1956), Latin Lovers (1961) and I cattivi vanno in paradiso (1959). She died on January 4, 2020 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

65. Martine Franck

Director | Contre l'oubli

Martine Franck was born on April 2, 1938 in Antwerp, Belgium. She was a director, known for Lest We Forget (1991), Mille enfants vers l'an 2000 (1999) and Mémoires vives (2013). She was married to Henri Cartier-Bresson. She died on August 16, 2012 in Paris, France.

66. María Luisa Bemberg

Writer | De eso no se habla

María Luisa Bemberg was born on April 14, 1922 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She was a writer and director, known for I Don't Want to Talk About It (1993), I, the Worst of All (1990) and Miss Mary (1986). She was married to Carlos Maria Miguens y Zumarán. She died on May 7, 1995 in Buenos Aires, ...

67. Maximiliane Mainka

Director | Wer will krank sein auf der Welt?

Maximiliane Mainka was born on May 29, 1943. She is an editor and director, known for Wer will krank sein auf der Welt? (1977), Germany in Autumn (1978) and Was d' Leut so saget (1980).

68. Jane Kennedy

Producer | Frontline

Jane Kennedy was born on June 9, 1964 in Camberwell, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is a producer and writer, known for Breaking News (1994), The Dish (2000) and The Castle (1997). She is married to Rob Sitch.

69. Zulfah Otto-Sallies

Director | Mama Africa: Growing Up Urban

Zulfah Otto-Sallies was born on May 8, 1961 in South Africa. She was a writer and director, known for Mama Africa (2002), Action Comandante (2016) and Amaza (2014). She was married to Shahied Sallies. She died on July 8, 2016 in Cape Town, South Africa.

70. Jill Godmilow

Director | What Farocki Taught

Born outside Philadelphia in 1943, majored in Russian literature at the University of Wisconsin. An independent filmmaker, primarily of non-fiction works, since 1967. Only one dramatic feature film, WAITING FOR THE MOON, which won 1st prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 1987. Since 1992, a ...

71. Sara Driver

Director | Sleepwalk

Sara Driver was born on December 15, 1955 in Westfield, New Jersey, USA. She is a director and actress, known for Sleepwalk (1986), The Dead Don't Die (2019) and Stranger Than Paradise (1984).

72. Stella Stevens

Actress | The Poseidon Adventure

The early film career of Stella Stevens could be said to mirror that of Marilyn Monroe. She began by playing a succession of sensuous, blond glamour girls, from naïve virgins and funny coquettes to precocious or briny-tongued floozies. Her early maturity on screen may have reflected her own ...

73. Tia Brelis

Director | Trading Mom

Tia Brelis is known for Trading Mom (1994).

74. Marisa Silver

Director | Old Enough

Marisa Silver is known for Old Enough (1984), He Said, She Said (1991) and Vital Signs (1990). She is married to Ken Kwapis. They have two children.

75. Sally Bongers

Director | Circa

Sally Bongers is known for Circa (2001), Christine Anu & Paul Kelly: Last Train (1993) and Sweetie (1989).

76. Lydia Dean Pilcher

Producer | Queen of Katwe

Lydia Dean Pilcher is known for Queen of Katwe (2016), Radium Girls (2018) and The Darjeeling Limited (2007).

Active producer. One earlier documentary directing credit.

77. Anna Maria Tatò

Director | Marcello Mastroianni: mi ricordo, sì, io mi ricordo

Anna Maria Tatò was born on April 19, 1940 in Barletta, Italy. She was a director and writer, known for Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (1997), Le serpentine d'oro (1978) and Doppio sogno dei Sigg. X (1980). She died on June 3, 2022 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

78. Bridgett M. Davis

Writer | Naked Acts

She took a screenwriting course in 1991 out of curiosity and soon found herself immersed in filmmaking. She graduated from Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia in 1982. She is an Associate Professor of English at City University of New York's Baruch College where she teaches TV and Film Writing, ...

79. Anne-Laure Folly

Director | Sarah Maldoror ou la nostalgie de l'utopie

Anne-Laure Folly is known for Sarah Maldoror ou la nostalgie de l'utopie (1999), Women with Open Eyes (1994) and Partition pour voix de femmes (2001).

80. Anne de Marcken

Cinematographer | Group

Anne de Marcken is a time-based artist working in literary fiction, film and video, digital photography, and interactive code. Her credits include short stories, poetry, screenplays, short and feature-length films and videos, and interactive web environments.

Her writing has been featured on NPR's ...

81. Michal Rovner

Writer | Border

Michal Rovner was born in 1957 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Michal is a writer and director, known for Border (1997), Last Supper (1992) and It's Real (1990).

82. Dara Birnbaum

Director | Kojak/Wang

Dara Birnbaum was born in 1946 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a director, known for Kojak/Wang (1980), Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1979) and I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art (1987).

83. Robin Anderson

Producer | Joe Leahy's Neighbours

Robin Anderson was born on September 11, 1948 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Robin was a producer and director, known for Joe Leahy's Neighbours (1989), Facing the Music (2001) and Black Harvest (1992). Robin was married to Bob Connolly. Robin died on March 8, 2002 in Sydney, New South ...

84. Nan Goldin

Camera_department | All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

Nan Goldin was born on September 12, 1953 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. She is an actress and director, known for All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022), I'll Be Your Mirror (1996) and High Art (1998).

85. Tressie Souders

Director | A Woman's Error

Little is known about Theresa "Tressie" Souders, who in 1922, became the first known African-American female director, when the Afro-American Film Exhibitors Company of Baltimore and Dallas, Texas, contracted with her to distribute her film "A Woman's Error." Billboard Magazine for January 28, 1922...

86. Zora Neale Hurston

Writer | American Playhouse

Zora Neale Hurston was born on January 7, 1891 in Notasulga, Alabama, USA. She was a writer and director, known for American Playhouse (1980), She's Gotta Have It (1986) and Hands Upon the Heart (1991). She was married to James Howell Pitts, Albert Price III and Herbert Sheen. She died on January ...

87. Eloyce Gist

Director | Hell-Bound Train

Eloyce Gist was born on October 21, 1892 in Hitchcock, Texas, USA. She was a director and actress, known for Hellbound Train (1930), Verdict Not Guilty (1933) and Heaven-Bound Traveler (1935). She was married to John William Slaughter, Arthur C. Wood, James Gist and Roscoe C. Patrick. She died in ...

88. Madeline Anderson

Actress | Simple Creature

Madeline Anderson was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA. She is known for Simple Creature (2016), Koinonia (2014) and Survival Skills (2020).

89. Jessie Maple

Director | Will

Jessie Maple was born on February 14, 1937 in McComb, Mississippi, USA. She was a producer and director, known for Will (1981), Twice as Nice (1989) and Pure Payton (1997). She was married to LeRoy Patton. She died on May 30, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

90. Cauleen Smith

Director | Drylongso

Cauleen Smith was born in Riverside, California and grew up in the Sacramento area. She completed her B.A. at San Francisco State University in 1991 and her M.F.A. in Film at UCLA in 1998. Her feature length film Drylongso received a lot of attention after its showing at the Sundance Film Festival....

91. Ruby L. Oliver

Director | Love Your Mama

Ruby L. Oliver is known for Love Your Mama (1990) and Sisters in Cinema (2003).

92. Alison Swan

Director | Mixing Nia

Alison Swan was born in Bermuda. She is known for Mixing Nia (1998), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) and Mrittupuri: Kill Zone.

93. Katja Raganelli

Director | I Am Wanda

Katja Raganelli is known for I Am Wanda (1980), Longing for Women: Dorothy Arzner (1983) and Márta Mészáros - Portrait einer ungarischen Filmregisseurin (1979).

94. Karin Swanström

Actress | Juninatten

Karin Swanström was born on June 13, 1873 in Norrköping, Östergötlands län, Sweden. She was an actress and production manager, known for June Night (1940), Kalle Utter (1925) and Flickan i frack (1926). She was married to Stellan Claësson. She died on July 5, 1942 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, ...

95. Sarah Kernochan

Writer | Nine 1/2 Weeks

Sarah Kernochan was born in New York City. Educated at Rosemary Hall and Sarah Lawrence, she achieved early success by winning the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary, at age 27, for her film "Marjoe." Her next move was to record two RCA albums as a singer-songwriter. Two years later her ...

96. Nell Shipman

Actress | The Grub Stake

Canadian-born actress, writer, producer and animal trainer Nell Shipman was best known for writing and acting in several James Oliver Curwood stories and for her portrayals of strong, adventurous women, with many of her productions being filmed in Canada. Her son, Barry Shipman, became a prolific ...

97. Frances Marion

Writer | The Big House

The most renowned female screenwriter of the 20th century, and one of the most respected scripters of any gender, Frances Marion was born in San Francisco. She modeled and acted and had some success as a commercial artist. She entered into journalism and served in Europe as a combat correspondent ...

98. Mabel Normand

Actress | Mickey

Mabel Normand was one of the comedy greats of early film. In an era when women are deemed 'not funny enough' it seems film history has forgotten her contributions. Her films debuted the Keystone Cops, Charlie Chaplin's tramp and the pie in the face gag. She co-starred with both Chaplin and Roscoe "...

99. Lillian Gish

Actress | The Night of the Hunter

Lillian Diana Gish was born on October 14, 1893, in Springfield, Ohio. Her father, James Lee Gish, was an alcoholic who caroused, was rarely at home, and left the family to, more or less, fend for themselves. To help make ends meet, Lillian, her sister Dorothy Gish, and their mother, Mary Gish, ...

100. Marguerite Bertsch

Writer | The Devil's Prize

A successful playwright, Marguerite Bertsch was hired by Vitagraph in 1913 as a screenwriter. After writing several successful pictures for the studio, she was given the chance to direct, at first with a co-director (William P.S. Earle) on The Law Decides (1916), then on her own with The Devil's ...