Cate Blanchett, Sofia Coppola, Sally Field, Annette Bening, and Evan Rachel Wood are featured this year, but the annual honor has a long history. Here's a look at Premiere's WIH honorees past and present.
(posted 09/06/2006)
Goldie Hawn said it best in 1996’s The First Wives Club: “There are only three ages for women in Hollywood — babe, district attorney, and Driving Miss Daisy.” For the past 13 years, Premiere has recognized Hollywood’s leading ladies who have worked tirelessly to dispel this rather dire expectation. On September 20th, our newest set of Icons: Cate Blanchett, Annette Bening, Sally Field, and Sofia Coppola will be feted alongside Chanel Spotlight for Emerging Talent recipient Evan Rachel Wood at the annual Premiere Women in Hollywood gala in Beverly Hills.
Since its inception in 1993, the Premiere’s Women in Hollywood issue has garnered enormous support from the entertainment community. The tribute honoring the women featured in the issue has become the magazine’s signature event.
In its inaugural year, Susan Lyne, currently president and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., and former editor-in-chief of Premiere called 1993 a “lousy one for American actresses,” noting that no female directors or producers were nominated for Academy Awards. Still, she observed, “…there is a seismic shift taking place in Hollywood. Women are everywhere-developing projects, negotiating talent, marketing, producing, and, in a few nascent cases, even directing and greenlighting movies.” Lyne explained that what began as a piece by writer Rachel Abramowitz on women in the industry became a “wonderfully candid oral history of women who’ve made their mark on movies.” From detailing the reflections of actresses to the true tales of female Teamsters and gaffers, our first issue exposed readers to a rarely examined cross section of the Hollywood experience.
Jodie Foster was the first to be granted Icon status, and in every Women in Hollywood issue since then, prominent women in the industry have articulated their thoughts be it by writing their own pieces, participating in Q&As, or interviewing one another. (click here for a complete list of our honorees and a link to some of the interviews.)
It’s been Premiere’s mission to scrutinize the constantly evolving function of women in filmmaking. Despite lingering obstacles, the industry’s leading ladies have made tremendous strides, running major studios, writing, and directing more than ever, and creating great roles where few exist.
—Melissa Farrar
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