Combating sexism in Hollywood has become very prevalent ever since the #MeToo movement and allegations against Harvey Weinstein brought light the systemic issues many women in the industry face when it comes to abuse and inequity. A lot of actresses have become more vocal and started taking action against the movie industry to fix it. In the early-1900s, the very first Hollywood actress not only starred in the films, but produced them herself and co-founded the film studio United Artists. This has forged the path for women who wanted to create their own roles and movies.
Many big-name actresses have since decided to start their own production studios like Charlize Theron, Queen Latifah, and even Salma Hayek. The smaller studios have helped plenty of actresses earn their own awards and go on to tell stories that inspire them. It may seem like these actresses have it all — they not only act, but they are smart businesswomen trying to make it in a predominately male environment. Here are 10 actresses who diversified their portfolio and started their own production companies.
Drew Barrymore founded her production company in 1995 along with her friend Nancy Juvonen. Her production company, Flower Films, has since then produced almost every project she has starred in. Independent says that Never Been Kissed, Charlie’s Angels, Whip It, How to Be Single, and even her Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet were all made by Flower Films. Barrymore’s company also allowed her to be able to sit in the director chair in the 2009 film Whip It.
Charlize Theron along with producing partners Beth Kono and AJ Dix create projects for both film and TV through their production company, Denver and Delilah Productions. The stories that their company focuses on tend to be ones that might otherwise get overlooked. The Netflix series created by David Fincher Mindhunter was brought to life due to Theron’s efforts. She also produced and starred in the spy flick Atomic Blonde and went on to work on another Netflix series Brain on Fire starring Chloe Grace Moretz.
I, Tonya allowed Margot Robbie to be nominated for Best Actress for an Academy Award, which is also a film she produced through her company LuckyChap Entertainment. She has also developed the TV series Shattered Glass and the Hulu original Dollface. Robbie told The Hollywood Reporter that the reason she started her own company was because she wanted to have a say when she read a script that she really loved. She wanted to make sure a film she fell in love with would go in the direction she believed it should go.
Natalie Portman became a producer nearly over a decade ago and developed films like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Jane Got a Gun, and No Strings Attached. Handsomecharlie Films was named after her late dog Charlie back in 2007 and has only produced four films. In 2009, Entertainment Weekly reported that she started her own company because she wasn’t finding the roles she wanted to work on. Not only was she not finding jobs that she could really get into, but she wanted the ability to create her own stories and support filmmakers she believed in.
Elizabeth Banks and her husband run the production company that is responsible for giving the world the Pitch Perfect franchise. Brownstone Productions regularly focuses on women-driven projects like the Charlie’s Angels reboot and the film White Girl Problems. Banks was also able to dip her hand in directing when she decided to reboot the Charlie’s Angels film. The production company has been extremely successful due to the popularity of Pitch Perfect, which has hit the $500 million mark in the box office.
Since 1995, Queen Latifah and Shakim Compere have been in the production company business with their company Flavor Unit Entertainment. Latifah even produced some of her own movies that she starred in like Beauty Shop and Just Wright. Most recently, her company has focused on making more TV shows like Scream and Bessie. Flavor Unit Entertainment was also the one behind The Queen Latifah Show, which aired from 2013 to 2015. In 2014, Latifah’s production company entered a partnership with Centric, which rebranded to BET, which aimed specifically at Black women.
Reese Witherspoon set up her first production company, Pacific Standard, to focus on telling stories that were female-driven. She’s especially interested in telling stories that are adapted from novels like Gone Girl. Since then, she has also founded a sister company called Hello Sunshine, which is also adapting Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Something in the Water. Witherspoon was also the producer behind the Golden Globe winning HBO series Big Little Lies.
Salma Hayek started her own production company in 1999, which has made a variety of projects. Her first film she produced was a Mexican film called El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba, which is also based on a novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Frida was Hayek’s next film she produced with her production company back in 2002. The Columbian show Yo Soy Betty, La Fea was brought to American television as Ugly Betty, which Hayek was strongly involved in making happen. In 2020, Women and Hollywood disclosed that Ventanarosa signed a deal with HBO Max and Warner Media.
The Queen of All Media or otherwise known as Oprah Winfrey has done more than just hosted her own successful talk show. In 1986, Winfrey started her own production company, Harpo Studios, under her well-known brand Harpo, Inc. Her production company deals with a variety of different forms of media like TV, movies, radio, publishing and philanthropy. Winfrey’s company has produced six feature films, with Selma being one of them. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Song.
Tina Fey came from Saturday Night Live as a comedian and then went to go on to build her own production company Little Stranger, Inc. in 2001. The company has produced two feature films, Sisters and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, both in which Fey has starred. The biggest project the company has taken on was the NBC comedy 30 Rock. The show was such a hit that in 2009, it was nominated for 22 Primetime Emmy Awards, setting the record for the most nominations in a single year. Recently, Fey’s company has produced the sitcom Mr. Mayor on NBC.
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