Her Bold Roles OnscreenThelma & Louise, 1991
ÒIt was the best script IÕd ever read,Ó she says
of the film that also launched Brad PittÕs
career. (She says it was ÒsweetÓ he thanked
her at the Oscars.) ÒSusan Sarandon and I
watched it a few weeks ago. We were dazzled
by it all these years later.ÓBeetlejuice, 1988
ÒWhen people recognize me occasionally, theyÕll say,
ÔI love your movie.Õ I started asking, ÔWhich movie?Õ
And 100 percent of the time itÕs Beetlejuice.ÓEarth Girls Are Easy,
1988
Alongside ex Jeff Goldblum,
Davis began defining her
offbeat screen persona.
ÒIt was so funny and a
chance to be a really unique,
quirky character.Ó17, and twin sons Kaiis and Kian, 15,
with her ex-husband, plastic sur-
geon Reza Jarrahy] were watch-
ing shows and movies made for
kids, and I saw that there were
so many fewer female charac-
ters than male characters,” she
says. The imbalance affects far
more than just acting jobs.
“There’s tremendous gender
inequality in every sector of society,
and we can’t snap our fingers and
suddenly Congress is 50/50. But it
can change overnight onscreen, and
if you see a fictitious character doing
it, it has an enormous impact,” she
says, noting that in one study, 63 per-
cent of women in STEM fields cited
Gillian Anderson’s X-Files character
Dana Scully as an inspiration. She
met with studio executives to point out the prob-
lem. “People who make kids’ entertainment had no
idea they were doing it. They care about kids and
want to do right by them. They weren’t aware.”She says her own groundbreaking films didn’t
really change things for women.
“When I first started out, every year at the Oscars
actresses like Meryl Streep, Jessica Lange, Glenn
Close and Sally Field were nominated and getting
awards,” Davis says. “I’d heard the concept that
women over 40 don’t work, but I thought, ‘They’re
changing everything. I won’t have to worry.’ And
that didn’t turn out to be true.” Davis, who won a
Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1988’s Acciden-A New Mission
Davis speaks
around the globe
about her work.
“We’ve done the
most research
ever on gender
depictions in
kids’ TV and kids
movies,” she says.46 March 30, 2020 HAIR: DRITAN VUSHAJ/SACHAJUAN/FORWARD ARTISTS; MAKEUP: ERIN AYANIAN-MONROE/PAT MCGRATH LABS/CLOUTIER REMIX; STYLIST: LINDA MEDVENE/TRISH SWORDS; DRESS: A.L.C.P13DAV4C.indd 46 FINAL 3/16/20 11:00 PM