The last few years have seen more women at the forefront of cinema. Greta Gerwig marked a real shift for women in 2023 with her adaptation of Barbie, starring Margot Robbie. Kristen Stewart, once a teen sensation, stepped behind the camera, directing movies like Boygenius: The Film (2023) and The Chronology of Water (2025). And Zinzi Coogler is a name everyone’s talking about for her work as co-producer on the Academy Award-winning horror blockbuster Sinners.
The film industry feels like it’s moving in an exciting direction, as more women prove to be just as credible as the cis men who have dominated this field for decades.
But what about the women who paved the way for cinema today? We take a look back at the women who pioneered film and Hollywood cinema. Who made history on and off screen.
Dive in!
The Movie Directors Who Broke Records
Many female directors changed the trajectory for what it means to be a filmmaker. One icon that comes to mind is Lina Wertmüller, the Italian film writer and director, who in 1979 became the first woman nominated for the Best Director Oscar. That same year marked a broader cultural shift: post-punk was breaking through, Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise premiered, and Sony introduced the iconic TPS-L2 portable music player. The world was moving rapidly, and Wertmüller was at the center of it.
Wertmüller set the tone for women in the film industry everywhere. After her nomination, more women began breaking into this scene. Sofia Coppola made history in 2004 as the first woman nominated across three categories for Lost in Translation. Jane Campion followed with a landmark achievement of her own, becoming the third woman to win a Best Director award in 2022.
It’s hard to imagine where cinema would stand today without these figures, but they represent only a fraction of a longer lineage of women influencing the industry.
Screenwriters with a Knack for Storytelling
At just 40 years old, June Mathis passed away from chronic heart disease. In her prime, she was a defining voice in screenwriting, a figure whose story we hardly ever read about. Mathis was an American writer who specialized in silent movies during the turbulent post-World War I era. Her screenwriting uncovered a deep rawness with a dash of wit. While there were hardly any screenwriters for Mathis to draw inspiration from, this became one of her biggest strengths. She became the reference point for other female writers, with films like Camille (1921) and Blood and Sand (1922) showcasing the scale of her undeniable talent.
Born in San Francisco in 1888, Frances Marion is another star who emerged from the early Hollywood scene. A writer and producer in her own right, she worked on nearly 200 films across her career. She would later go on to receive two Oscars for Best Writing.
Back then, misogyny in the film industry created a constant barrier for women. This wasn’t the only obstacle. Racism was another defining factor. Very few Black, brown, or Asian women were credited for their work, making it almost impossible for people of color to catch their big break. Even when they finally did, it would take decades before Hollywood accepted their success.
Eloyce Gist was one of the first Black female innovators in cinema. A multifaceted artist, Gist worked across producing, writing and directing alongside her husband in the late 1920s. Despite her small body of work, Gist still made a lasting dent in Hollywood.
The Woman Who Did It All
Between 1912 and 1919, Mary Pickford coined the nickname “America’s Sweetheart,” though it only captured part of who she was. A producer and actress, Pickford built a presence both on and off screen. Some of her best work includes her roles in Sam Taylor’s My Best Girl (1927) or Frank Borzage’s Secrets (1933). The actress quickly became one of Hollywood’s most pivotal voices, her skills expanding far beyond the average movie star.
Pickford also earned a salary that was completely unheard of for women at that time. She secured around $560,000 annually, which soon became millions. Back then, women’s rights were severely restricted. Women couldn’t own bank accounts, let alone earn over half a million dollars. Pickford, however, found ways to work around the misogyny that ultimately tested her success rate. At 24, Pickford she a contract with Famous Players-Lasky, which stated that all her movies would be distributed through them. The agreement also granted the actress 50% of the profits for all her movies. That level of ownership is something you’d expect now, but at the time, it was practically unheard of.
By 1916, she was working on movies with Mutual Studio (Charlie Chaplin), where she was offered $1 million a year. Pickford’s earnings were a groundbreaking revolution. Not only for women in film, but also for the industry as a whole.
After her death, Pickford’s original company, The Mary Pickford Foundation, was re-established in 1982 with the help of three trusted directors. The organization became a space to honor the actresses’ expansive catalogue and inspire the next generation of film stars.
Although Pickford’s career is almost a century old, her impact remains embedded in the storytelling seen in cinema today. Her legacy still shows up in the risks that female producers, directors, and actors continue to take.
Actresses who Vibrated On-Screen Charisma
Many people point to the acclaimed actors Judy Garland or Audrey Hepburn as the earliest recognized female screen entertainers. And rightly so. But there are generations of women who carved their way into the scene long before them.
In 2015, French directors and sisters, Clara and Julia Kuperberg, collaborated on Women Who Run Hollywood. The project spanned four documentaries that analyze the rich and broad history of cinema through the women who shaped it, from actresses to directors and screenwriters.
Cinema is often framed as a male-dominated industry, yet a little digging reveals just how deeply women have been embedded within the space. They set the tone by establishing a plethora of honorable firsts and pioneering a space for other women to follow with more confidence in their capabilities. Today, women in film don’t seem as niche as they once did. As the industry continues to grow, so does opportunity. Cinema is experiencing one of its most exciting periods yet, with inclusivity seriously beginning to take hold.