Thursday, May 03, 2007
Geena Davis - Hero and Inspiration
Oscar winning female celebrity Geena Davis has proven her versatility in playing strong female roles in numerous projects throughout her career, even stepping up to the task of being the first female president of the U.S. in the hit, but short lived, ABC drama, Commander in Chief. Davis has plenty of motion picture credits too as the dog trainer in the Accidental Tourist (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress), and a baseball player in A League of Their Own. And before ever stepping in front of a movie or television camera, Geena Davis was a thriving lingerie model during and after her college years. This past Tuesday at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Geena Davis was recognized for another active role she plays off-screen; publisher Craig Moon presented Davis with another award, the USA Hollywood Hero Award, as founder of the See Jane project.
Geena Davis started the See Jane project in 2004 as an offshoot of Dads and Daughters, a non-profit organization, with a goal toward increasing female participation in children’s TV shows and movies. Davis recognized a disparity in the number of male characters vs. female characters in children’s TV and movie programming, and commented on “why more Smurfs than Smurfettes.” Because of her efforts in See Jane, television shows starring female characters and heroes such as Dora the Explorer, That’s So Raven, and Hannah Montana are now being included.
Although Davis is quite modest in not considering herself a hero, she does admit to having a few heroes of her own, both male and female, including Susan Sarandon, her costar in Thelma and Louise, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie, and her favorite aunt Gloria who passed away when Geena was 18 years old. Among the attendees at the ceremony who paid tribute to Davis’ success were Adam Arkin, Helen Slater, and Mimi Rogers. As some remarked, there is nothing stereotypical about Geena Davis - she has been a Superwoman on Saturday Night Live, a talented singer of Swedish Christmas carols, and even a master at carving Halloween pumpkins. In addition to being a super actress, she is a super mom to her three children, and a super wife to her husband Reza Jarrahy. Davis stays extremely busy, but somehow she has also found time to maintain her own website GeenaTakesAim.com, which fully supports Title IX in education and encourages girls to participate in sports.
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