Geena Davis, the Oscar-winning star of Thelma & Louise and A League of Their Own, has spoken candidly about the challenges she faced in Hollywood after turning 40, as well as her ongoing activism for gender equality in film. In a recent interview, the 64-year-old actress reflected on her career and the stark drop-off in roles she experienced as she aged.
“As soon as I hit 40, I fell off the cliff. I really did,” Davis said. Despite her early success, including her debut in Tootsie (1982) and a string of hit films, she found that opportunities dwindled dramatically. She now dedicates much of her time to the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, which she founded 13 years ago after noticing a severe imbalance in children's television. “I had this realisation that this problem we’re all trying to fix, gender inequality, well, a good way would be to stop teaching two-year-olds to have a gender bias,” she explained.
Davis also co-founded the Bentonville Film Festival in 2015, which this summer featured over 80% of films directed by women, 65% by people of colour, and 40% by LGBTQ+ individuals. “Our goal is very simple: the storytellers and people on screen should reflect the population, which is half female and incredibly diverse,” she said. Her institute’s research has shown that gender and race parity have been achieved on the most popular children’s TV shows, though mainstream Hollywood remains slow to change.
Speaking about her personal life, Davis said she is glad she had children in her 40s, and described spending lockdown with her 18-year-old daughter and 16-year-old twin sons. Despite the challenges, she remains optimistic about the future of representation in film. “Oh, we want to change the world!” she said with a smile.
