Inspirational Women's History Trailblazer Biopics
Each March in the USA, we recognize female achievements during Women's History Month. Biographical movies are a great way to educate the public about landmark events in the struggle for gender equality. At the same time, these movies honor and celebrate each woman's achievement with the star power they deserve. Bios Source: Wikipedia.com
Which of these select trailblazing or pioneering female* in their field inspires you the most, or alternatively their biopic does? * Explorers, Scientists, Pioneers, Discovers, Rebels, Etc.
Women's History Month Companion Polls Leader Biopics : Trailblazer Biopics : Humanitarian Biopics : Sports Biopics : Writer Biopics : Singer/Musician Biopics : Visual Artist Biopics : Performance Artist Biopics
Discuss the topic here.
Which of these select trailblazing or pioneering female* in their field inspires you the most, or alternatively their biopic does? * Explorers, Scientists, Pioneers, Discovers, Rebels, Etc.
Women's History Month Companion Polls Leader Biopics : Trailblazer Biopics : Humanitarian Biopics : Sports Biopics : Writer Biopics : Singer/Musician Biopics : Visual Artist Biopics : Performance Artist Biopics
Discuss the topic here.
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- DirectorLuc BessonStarsMilla JovovichJohn MalkovichRab AffleckA young girl receives a vision that drives her to rid France of its oppressors.Joan of Arc: Warrior General, led her country's army to victory over England. Alternate Biopics: Joan of Arc (1948), Saint Joan (1957), The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
- DirectorMira NairStarsHilary SwankRichard GereEwan McGregorA look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a flight around the world.Amelia Earhart: Aviator, was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean and inspiration to millions of girls worldwide.
- DirectorTheodore MelfiStarsTaraji P. HensonOctavia SpencerJanelle MonáeThe story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan or Mary Jackson: NASA Pioneers, who helped get the space program off the ground and into space.
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsSigourney WeaverBryan BrownJulie HarrisThe story of Dian Fossey, a scientist who came to Africa to study the vanishing mountain gorillas, and later fought to protect them.Dian Fossey: Naturalist, who was a pioneer in the fields of zoology, primatology, anthropology and a fervent conservationist.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.Teena Brandon: Trans Man, whose story highlighted the legal and medical discrimination she suffered to live as a transgender man. Her murder led to the establishment of hate crime legislation and a better understanding and acceptance of transgenders. Alternate Biopic: The Brandon Teena Story (1998)
- DirectorAnne FontaineStarsAudrey TautouBenoît PoelvoordeAlessandro NivolaThe story of Coco Chanel's rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world.Coco Chanel: Chanel Founder, a pioneering lifestyle designer and business founder who changed the look of women's fashion far beyond couture clothing. Alternate Biopic: Coco Chanel (2008)
- DirectorArthur PennStarsWarren BeattyFaye DunawayMichael J. PollardBored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.Bonnie Parker: Bank Robber, an American legend participating in more than hundred or more robberies. Although, her portrayal was greatly exaggerated by the press during the hardscrabble times of Great Depression, but nonetheless elevated her to mythical stature in her day and beyond.
- DirectorAlejandro AmenábarStarsRachel WeiszMax MinghellaOscar IsaacA historical drama set in Roman Egypt, concerning a slave who turns to the rising tide of Christianity in the hope of pursuing freedom while falling in love with his mistress, the philosophy and mathematics professor Hypatia of Alexandria.Hypatia: Professor, a Greek mathematician, astronomer, educator and philosopher. While in Egypt, she made notable scientific contributions, championed human rights for all and paid the ultimate price for her beliefs.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsMeryl StreepTom HanksSarah PaulsonA cover-up spanning four U.S. Presidents pushes the country's first female newspaper publisher and her editor to join an unprecedented battle between press and government.Kay Graham: Newspaper Publisher was the first female publisher of a major American newspaper. She led The Washington Post for more than two decades, overseeing its most famous period and also won a Pulitzer Prize for her memoir.
- DirectorNora EphronStarsAmy AdamsMeryl StreepChris MessinaJulia Child's story of her start in the cooking profession is intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book.Julia Child: French Chef was a Le Cordon Bleu trained chef, best-selling author and television pioneer.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsSally FieldBeau BridgesRon LeibmanA young single mother and textile worker agrees to help unionize her mill despite the problems and dangers involved.Crystal Lee Sutton: Union Organizer whose early labor organizing work at the J.P. Stevens mills in North Carolina in the 1970's was the basis of this semi-fictionalized account.
- DirectorGarth DavisStarsRooney MaraJoaquin PhoenixChiwetel EjioforTwelve men heard and spread the message of Jesus. Only one woman understood it.Mary Magdalene: Disciple, one of the original advocates of the teachings of Jesus and influential spiritual leader. Alternate Biopics: Mary Magdalene (2000) plus others.
- DirectorMarjane SatrapiStarsRosamund PikeYvette FeuerMirjam NovakThe incredible true story of Marie Sklodowska-Curie and her Nobel Prize-winning work that changed the world.Dr. Marie Curie: Scientist, who won not one but two seperate Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry. Alternate Biopic: Madame Curie (1943) w/Greer Garson
- DirectorSergey MokritskiyStarsYuliya PeresildEvgeniy TsyganovOleg VasilkovA story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history.Lyudmila Pavlichenko: Sniper, credited with 309 kills and regarded one of the top military snipers of all time. She was awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union medal, the Soviet military's highest military decoration.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsKeira KnightleyMickey RourkeEdgar RamírezA recounting of Domino Harvey's life story. The daughter of actor Laurence Harvey turned away from her career as a Ford model to become a bounty hunter.Domino Harvey: Bounty Hunter, a former Ford model who excelled and was well-regarded in the male-dominated bail recovery field.
- DirectorMick JacksonStarsClaire DanesJulia OrmondDavid StrathairnA biopic of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry.Temple Grandin: Scientist, animal behavioral expert and autism pioneer whose advanced work in the autism field led to the invention of the "hug box". Her shared personal autism experiences led to a better understanding and acceptance of autism.
- DirectorMartha CoolidgeStarsHalle BerryBrent SpinerKlaus Maria BrandauerDorothy Dandridge's way to fame and fortune as a dancer, singer and actress.Dorothy Dandridge: Actress, first African-American actress to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in the 1954 film Carmen. Dandridge's second nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess demonstrated her widespread appeal to audiences of all races.
- DirectorGeorge SidneyBusby BerkeleyStarsBetty HuttonHoward KeelLouis CalhernThe story of the great sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who rose to fame while dealing with her love/professional rival, Frank Butler.Annie Oakley: Sharpshooter, whose shooting prowess was legendary, well-deserved and unrivaled. Alternate Biopic: Annie Oakley (1935)
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsFred MacMurrayCharlton HestonDonna ReedAfter purchasing Louisiana from France, the USA sends surveyors Lewis and Clark, assisted by a Shoshone guide, to chart the new territory.Sacajawea: Explorer, showed Lewis and Clark how to get from one end of United States to the other. Upcoming Biopic: Sacajawea: The Windcatcher
- DirectorBrian GibsonStarsLynn WhitfieldRubén BladesDavid DukesBorn poor in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker achieved fame and fortune through her sizzlingly exotic, erotic performances. Starting life on the American Vaudeville circuit, success takes Josephine to Paris where her semi-nude dancing causes an international sensation. Through her marriages to an Italian pseudo-count and an orchestra leader, to her bond with army officer Sydney Williams, Josephine's life is a rollercoaster ride of love and rejection from both her lovers and her country. But semi-nude, or head-to-toes in sequins; in battle fatigues or rags - her beauty and ambition ensured that Josephine Baker will always be remembered as the first, and possibly most loved, truly international star.Josephine Baker: Entertainer, was a civil rights activist/pioneer, a French Resistance agent and a symbol of the Jazz Age and the 1920's. Baker was the first person of color to become a world-wide entertainer and to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934).
- DirectorAlexandra DeanStarsHedy LamarrMel BrooksJennifer HomThe life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.Hedy Lamarr: Actress, a mathematical prodigy and little-know inventor who co-developed with composer George Antheil a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes. It pioneered spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. The principles of their work are the foundations upon which Bluetooth, CDMA (wireless phones) and Wi-Fi are built. This work led to their induction into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
- DirectorDudley NicholsStarsRosalind RussellAlexander KnoxDean JaggerAn Australian nurse discovers an effective new treatment for infantile paralysis, but experiences great difficulty in convincing doctors of the validity of her claims.Elizabeth Kenny: Medical Pioneer, who developed a polio treatment that ran counter to conventional medical wisdom of the day. Kenny showed the need to exercise muscles affected by polio instead of immobilizing them. Her principles of muscle rehabilitation became the foundation of physical therapy, or physiotherapy we know today.
- DirectorGary GlassmanStarsBarbara FlynnVittorio LuzzatiBrenda MaddoxRosalind Franklin: Scientist, led pioneering work on the molecular structure of DNA and viruses before an early death at 37 years old. Her work garnered two Nobel prizes for others with her own omission only due to the Nobel Committee's policy against posthumous nominations.
- DirectorGeorge C. WolfeStarsRenée Elise GoldsberrySylvia Grace CrimReed BirneyAn African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.Henrietta Lacks, progenitor of the HeLa immortalized cell line, one of the most important medical research discoveries ever made. The theft of her cells for commercial purposes made a groundbreaking impact on medical research. While highlighting concerns for both medical privacy and patients' rights.
- DirectorLawrence SchillerStarsFarrah FawcettFrederic ForrestDavid HuddlestonBiographical account of pioneering photographer's career.Margaret Bourke-White: War Correspondent, who is best known for her work as a world-traveled photojournalist for Forbes and Life magazine.