Hollywood: Her Story

The American public (and the public around the world) remain fascinated with film stars. A Timeline of Women’s Contributions to the Movies is a unique book about the film industry in that the format is a timeline that will include a picture of each woman or the film or technology in which she was involved, and a short description of her significant accomplishments. Quotes and other pictures are placed throughout the book to provide a rich historical context of the societal and political events occurring at that time. The format allows the reader to move quickly from woman to woman and from achievement to achievement. In spite of women purchasing half of the movie tickets sold in the U.S. today, women and girls are chronically underrepresented in the mainstream film industry, both behind the camera and on the screen. It is important, therefore, to show that women have been involved with the film industry in every capacity since its founding in 1896. Their existence and stories should not be lost. Building on the legacy of HER STORY: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America (HarperCollins – hardback 2008, paperback 2013), this book will be an inclusive volume across all facets of the film industry from acting to directing, from producing to editing, from casting to wardrobe, from stunts to the technical advances in the industry. Women’s contributions will be acknowledged from the late 1890s through 2017. Seeing them all in one book shows the impressive impact women have had on the movies.

Jill S. Tietjen, P.E. is an author, speaker, and electrical engineer. She is the co-author of Her Story: A Timeline of the Women Who Changed America, which received the Daughters of the American Revolution History Award Medal. Jill has conducted research into historical women around the world for the past thirty years and speaks around the country about women’s contributions to history. One of the top historians on women across all fields of endeavor in the U.S., she works to bring more visibility to women through her continual nominations of historical and living women for national, state and local awards. Her nominees have been successfully inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Inventor’s Hall of Fame, and a number of state women’s halls of fame. Jill is often profiled and quoted in the media, and her articles have been printed in a wide variety of publications. She has received numerous awards and has been inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame. Barbara Bridges has spent much of her life as an entrepreneur and businesswoman. In 2006, she founded Women+Film, a program in partnership with the Denver Film Society, where she has been bringing audiences together with films, by and about women, that ignite discussions around global issues facing women today. With the annual Women+Film Festival, a section of movies in the Denver Film Festival and movie screenings throughout the year, it is a popular film program that not only entertains but educates and inspires as well. Barbara speaks to various groups about the role of women in the movies and has been involved with various film festivals. The Denver Post named her one of Colorado’s Top Thinkers in Arts and Culture. Barbara has served on the boards of several women’s organizations, both locally and nationally, and has received numerous awards as a result.