Elle USA - 11.2019

THE RENAISSANCE WOMAN

CULTURE

Women in Hollywood

A wave of female-fronted projects is rising

up out of Hollywood, and these 12

women are ready to ride. By Emily Zemler

here’s been a noticeable shift in Hollywood in recent years. It’s a sentiment

shared by many of this year’s Women in Hollywood honorees, and something

we’ve witnessed with our own eyes. More doors are opening to women, just

as more women are feeling emboldened to enter those doors without an invite.

Countless artists and executives at every level are taking advantage of these new op-

portunities and making vibrant, lasting work. The 12 women highlighted here—from

a writer-actor extraordinaire to a powerhouse producer to a tireless director whose

much-awaited biographical film about a slave-turned-abolitionist will finally debut

this month—exemplify creativity and fearlessness. We applaud their efforts to pursue

critically important and diverse projects that inspire us all. And we’re thankful to them

for keeping the doors propped open for the next generation of creators.

T

PHOEBE WALLER-BRIDGE

The creator and star of Fleabag has

become a singular voice in Hollywood.

While appearing in the Emmy-nominated

show, Waller-Bridge also found time to

develop the award-winning BBC America

series Killing Eve. Earlier this year, she

was brought in to punch up the screenplay

for No Time to Die, the twenty-fifth James

Bond film, bringing a much-needed female

perspective to the spy franchise. Fans of

her spirited, original storytelling will also

be pleased to learn that she’s currently

penning (and plans to direct) a feature film.

THE WRITER

ISSA RAE

Rae is Hollywood’s everywoman: creator,

writer, actress, producer. She delivered an

unforgettable comedic turn in Little earlier

this year, and the fourth season of her

Emmy-nominated HBO series Insecure is

currently in the works. Rae has two films on

the horizon for 2020 as well: Stella Meghie’s

The Photograph and Michael Showalter’s

next rom-com, The Lovebirds. She’s all about

paying it forward, too, having launched a

contest to find the next best teen movie

script with director Paul Feig this past July.

DANA WALDEN

Walden, former chairman and CEO of Fox

Television Group, weathered the Disney/

Fox merger and was ultimately named

chairman of Disney Television Studios and

ABC Entertainment in March. In her new

role, Walden has taken on twice the work,

adding three studios, a cable channel, the

ABC Television Network, and ABC Owned

Television Stations Group to her portfolio

while simultaneously overseeing the Hulu

Scripted Originals Team. The exec has been

responsible for launching hit shows like

Empire, and helped guide the success of

Grey’s Anatomy and This Is Us.

THE BOSS

FILM/TV

WALLER-BRIDGE: IAN WEST/PA/GETTY IMAGES; RAE: JEFF KRAVITZ/FILMMAGIC; WALDEN: JEFF NEIRA/WALT DISNEY TELEVISION/GETTY IMAGES; BEACHLER: STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE; WILDE: MATT WINKELMEYER/GETTY IMAGES; KENNEDY: MARKUS JANUS; GERWIG: DONATO SARDELLA/GETTY IMAGES; NISHIMURA: RODIN ECKENROTH/GETTY IM

AGES; CARTER: DAN MACMEDAN/GETTY

IMAGES; SHERMAN-PALLADINO: TODD WILLIAMSON/NBC/GETTY IMAGES; LEMMONS: EARL GIBSON III/GETTY IMAGES; MOCK: JENNIFER GRAYLOCK/GETTY IMAGES.