Meet Geena Davis

Meet Geena Davis, actor and feminist researcher. Davis is the mother of three. Her daughter inspired her to begin researching female roles in film so that there might be more awareness around how women are treated both on and off screen.
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Meet Geena Davis

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Hi. I'm Geena Davis. I'm an actor. And I'm also the founder of a research non-profit called the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. And what we do is research media that's created for kids - television shows and movies that are aimed at kids 11 and under to find out how the female characters are portrayed, because I think that's really important. I have a daughter that's 11, and she's pretty much the reason that I started all this. I also have twin boys who are 9. And they're all great and so much fun. I guess my most interesting hobby is archery. And it turned out that I was sort of naturally good at it. And 2 1/2 years later, I qualified to go to the Olympic trials in archery. So it's apparently something I never expected to find myself doing in my 40s, going to the Olympic trials, but it was certainly really fun. And I'm sure that the Hunger Games and Brave were such big hits because I had paved the way for female archers.
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Meet Geena Davis, actor and feminist researcher. Davis is the mother of three. Her daughter inspired her to begin researching female roles in film so that there might be more awareness around how women are treated both on and off screen.

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Geena Davis

Academy Award Winning Actor & Founder of Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Academy Award winner Geena Davis is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, appearing in several roles that became cultural landmarks. Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC’s hit show “Commander in Chief.”In 1989, Davis received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the offbeat dog trainer Muriel Pritchett in Lawrence Kasdan’s “The Accidental Tourist.” She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Ridley Scott’s “Thelma & Louise,” in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon. Davis went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of baseball phenomenon Dottie Hinson in “A League of Their Own.” Davis made her feature film debut starring opposite Dustin Hoffman in “Tootsie.” She went on to star in such films as “The Fly,” “Beetlejuice,” “Angie,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” and “Stuart Little.”

Few have achieved such remarkable success in as many different fields as Davis has: she is not only an Oscar and Golden Globe winning actor, but a world-class athlete (at one time the nation’s 13th-ranked archer), a member of the genius society Mensa, and is becoming recognized for her tireless advocacy of women and girls nearly as much as for her acting accomplishments. She is the founder of the non-profit Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which engages film and television creators to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters – and reduce gender stereotyping – in media made for children 11 and under.

Davis was appointed Special Envoy for Women and Girls in ICT for the UN's International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Davis is also an official partner of UN Women, working toward their goal of promoting gender equality and empowering women worldwide. Davis is the Chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women. Davis holds honorary degrees from Boston University, Bates College and New England College. 

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