Feisty Female Friday: Geena Davis

The FFF this week is Geena Davis.

Geena Davis studied drama at Boston University and worked in summer stock theatre. She moved to NY City, where she initially found work waiting tables in restaurants, became a model, and made her feature film debut in the comedy Tootsie.

She also had roles in the TV series Buffalo Bill and Family Ties. Her big breakthrough role was in the horror film, The Fly. Next came Beetlejuice and The Accidental Tourist, for which earned her an Academy Award. Geena is also widely known for her performance as Thelma, in the feminist movie Thelma & Louise and in the hit, A League of Their Own. She had her own sitcom called The Geena Davis Show and starred as President Mackenzie Allen in the TV drama, Commander in Chief, for which she won a Golden Globe Award. Geena was also a cast member on the drama Grey’s Anatomy, appeared in the horror series The Exorcist, and GLOW.

Geena founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which partnered with the UN women’s agency and the Rockefeller Foundation, to produce the first international study of gender images in movies. She received an award for her work in gender equality in Hollywood and was also named the UN special envoy for women and girls in information and communications technology. Geena recently published and illustrated a book titled, The Girl Who Was Too Big for the Page about growing up as the tallest girl in the room and learning to embrace being talk, mirroring the story of her life.

Geena is divorced and the mom of three children. She lives in LA and continues to be on the lookout for great movie roles.