The diverse group of groundbreaking movie pioneers profiled here includes actors, producers, directors, a screenwriter, a costume designer, a film editor, and a stuntwoman, with some of the subjects working in more than one of these roles in the first decades of the 20th century. While the individual women’s distinct personalities, ambitions, and creativity come through, there is also a collective sense of commitment to supporting other women in the burgeoning film industry on display, even when some were vying for the same jobs. From Mary Pickford taking charge as one of the three founders of United Artists, to mixed-race Fredi Washington—cast as a mixed-race character in Imitation of Life (1934)—having her demands that some changes be made to “straighten out” inaccuracies in the script taken seriously, there are wonderful examples of progressive thinking in early Hollywood. There are also many examples of racism and sexism, including the stereotypical roles most often available to Black actors and other actors of color, and Chinese American filmmaker Marion Wong’s frustration at never seeing her self-produced work The Curse, which debuted in 1917, picked up for distribution. Marion quit filmmaking; The Curse was discovered decades later and is now “hailed as a masterpiece.” An afterword briefly touches on progress and the frustrating lack of it across various aspects of the industry today in an inspiring work concluding with source notes and index. (Age 12 and older)

Discover the electrifying untold stories of the pioneering and groundbreaking women of Old Hollywood in this nonfiction book perfect for young movie buffs and budding feminists alike. Includes a foreword written by Marvel Studios' Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Academy Award-Winning Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter.

While recent phenomena like #OscarsSoWhite have reminded us that Hollywood can be an unfriendly place to people of color and to women, they have been an integral part of the industry from the beginning. In the early twentieth century, women from all walks of life fought against sexism and racism to succeed in Hollywood as actors, directors, costume designers, editors, and stunt women. From well-known, glamorous starlets like Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, to under-appreciated trailblazers like Anna May Wong and Hattie McDaniel, acclaimed author Susan Goldman Rubin shows that movies wouldn’t be the same without the women who succeeded against the odds and built Hollywood from the ground up. Filled with fascinating photographs and little-known facts, this rigorously researched book begins with a foreword by Ruth E Carter, who won Academy Awards in 2019 and 2023 for her work on Marvel Studios' Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.