Geena Davis portrayed the first woman American president on the TV Series “Commander in Chief” (2005–2006), and is founder of the organization Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, whose research finds that “male characters still dominate television, movies, and other media for young children. “Since women and girls make up half of the human […]
“I always feel like something of an impostor. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Jodie Foster made that comment when she was guest of honor at a Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Power 100 breakfast, as recipient of the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award. A highly accomplished actor-director-producer, Foster said, “I don’t feel very powerful. I […]
“To diverge from the mainstream and from mediocrity takes a lot of guts, and it takes a lot of bravery. “And to be in a movie that is all about that is so exciting to me, because I want to encourage everyone to take a step toward sovereignty.” Shailene Woodley From article Shailene Woodley embraces […]
In the movie The Black Dahlia (2006), based on her infamous murder, struggling actress Elizabeth Short (aka “The Black Dahlia,” played by Mia Kirshner) is shown auditioning for role after role. Scarlett Johansson (who acted in the movie) said she has “a lot of friends who are very talented actors and musicians who struggle… “Any […]
Covering up, not acknowledging, or discounting our talents and abilities is something many high ability people do – perhaps especially girls. Sally M. Reis, Ph.D. “found that gifted girls do not want to be considered different from their friends and same-age peers. Indeed, a tendency exists for many females, regardless of age, to try to […]
Our self-esteem or positive self concept, and how well and deeply we value ourselves, impacts how fully we can live and realize our talents. Meredith Vieira “Just as she started to experience success in front of the camera [in the 1970s], Meredith Vieira found herself embroiled in an abusive relationship,” a magazine article revealed. “My […]
Charlize Theron admires her mother as a role model, and a woman with strong individuality. “It was the greatest thing she has given me. I don’t think she knows that. I don’t even think she set out to teach me that. “That’s just how she lived her life and what she encouraged me to do. […]
At age 17, Lady Gaga achieved early admission to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her music videos show her love of costume artifice and theatricality – and play. She admires photographer Cindy Sherman, another artist who intrigues me for creating so many personas as a performance artist. See Cindy Sherman books Lady […]
SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy) is the bestselling author and artist of fifteen books, including Succulent Wild Woman, Bodacious Book of Succulence, Eat Mangoes Naked, and other titles. She is an acclaimed speaker and teacher, and CEO and founder of Planet SARK, a business that promotes empowered living, and her writings and artwork. One of […]
Actor and singer Idina Menzel commented in an interview about what her character Elphaba in “Wicked” meant to her, especially in terms of the courage to be yourself. “When you’re an artist usually you have to take risks and usually you have to put yourself on the line and go against the grain in order […]
About one of the topics of her movie “Marie Antoinette,” director Sofia Coppola once commented, “You’re considered superficial and silly if you are interested in fashion, but I think you can be substantial and still be interested in frivolity.” One way many talented people can be self-critical is to judge their wide-ranging serial interests as […]
“Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don’t have one, realize it is your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you.” Amelia Earhart She also commented, “Flying may not be all plain sailing, but […]
“Exene Cervenka has transitioned successfully through a variety of career phases, starting with her stint in X, the band that perhaps best embodied the character of L.A.’s punk subculture of the early ’80s. “She moved on to the rootsy folk-country side project the Knitters with other members of X and the Blasters, then launched a […]
“I have, like, hyper-awareness. It’s like a disease. I can’t help it. I notice everything.” [From Courteney in Control, By Hilary De Vries, marieclaire.com August 2006; photo by James White] A newer profile article says “Cox, who considers herself always to have been sensitive, has grown even more so since having a kid [5-year-old daughter, […]
Video and transcript from The Rachel Maddow Show June 4 2009 – MADDOW: If choosing a summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, Princeton graduate with the J.D. from Yale, and 11 years experience on the second circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals—where only three of her hundreds of opinions have been overturned by the […]
From review by Pauline on CHICKS ROCK! : “This documentary film follows the trials and tribulations of five women artists, and how they maintain the shaky balance between motherhood and art in their lives. It is the kind of movie everyone should see, but may not be able to because of limited media coverage. “Who […]
Not like the movies A new biography looks into the shadows and ‘Untold Story’ of Doris Day On screen, she was America’s smiling, singing darling. But off screen, her husbands weren’t Rock Hudson and her life was no light romp. A former singer with Les Brown’s band in the 1940s. Day was always portrayed as […]
Heather Thomas based her new novel “Trophies” on Hollywood trophy wives – who, she says “get a bad rap, and there’s a lot of misconceptions about them. But really, there isn’t a hospital wing or a library in this city that wasn’t the result of some trophy wife’s efforts.” Here is an excerpt from the […]
Stronger, smarter, less crazy Jamie Lee Curtis says she embraces getting older: “I actually think there’s an incredible amount of self-knowledge that comes with getting older. I feel way better now than I did when I was 20. I’m stronger, I’m smarter in every way, I’m so much less crazy than I was then. “Years […]
Never give up News journalist Ann Curry [Today show etc] was born in Guam to a Japanese mother and a father of predominantly French and Scots-Irish descent from Colorado. [Wikipedia profile.] She has talked about how her multi-ethnic background was at times in her life painful, but has also helped fuel her ambition to achieve, […]
Jenny McCarthy was a guest on the Oprah and Eckhart Tolle’s A New Earth Online Class. She spoke about her complex emotional reactions in raising her autistic son Evan. Making the connection Jenny: You know, I read this book [A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle] when it first came out and that was one of […]
Anne Boleyn “She was a woman of charm, style and wit, and will and savagery.” That is a description of Anne Boleyn (second wife of Henry VIII) by Susan Brigden, author of New Worlds, Lost Worlds: The Rule of the Tudors, 1485-1603. Natalie Portman portrays Anne in The Other Boleyn Girl [right], and says she […]
Feminist Majority Foundation video: This is What a Feminist Looks Like! Related perspective: Elizabeth Wurtzel on feminism “Feminism, which was meant to be fun, has lately started to seem so sour… But it cannot be the case that we went through all that bra-burning and consciousness-raising to be left choosing between, yet again, the madonna […]
“The human soul has need of security and also of risk. The boredom produced by a complete absence of risk is also a sickness of the soul.” – Simone Weil One way we can stay vital and authentic is by saying what we really think, even when that may be a risk. Actor Rachel McAdams […]
Site author: Douglas Eby, M.A./Psychology, is a writer and researcher on the psychology of creative expression and personal growth, especially for high ability adults. He is publisher of the Talent Development Resources series of sites.
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