Some REAL REEL WOMEN have been celebrated and memorialized in numerous films, as perennial favorites. The highly dramatic story of Joan of Arc has been told successfully in eight films that illuminated the silver screen periodically from 1902 to 2018. It’s interesting to compare the various versions to see how they reflect life at the time of their release.
Other REAL REEL WOMEN have appeared in the cinema only after seismic shifts in the prevailing social and cultural milieu that has long been dominated by men. For example, films about Mary Shelley, Sophie Scholl, and Golda Meir were made during the 1980s, reflecting social and legislative progress achieved by women in the 1970s.
This list of films by decade illustrates which REAL REEL WOMEN’s stories interested filmmakers and audiences at particular moments in history, contextualizing their social and cultural impact. and informing us about their influence in the evolution of our civilization.
We invite you consider how these women’s stories told over time have influenced the evolution of our civilization. To underscore the importance of their contributions, we also present a list of REAL REEL WOMEN by profession.
REAL REEL WOMEN Editors Marilyn Ferdinand and Jennifer Merin
1900s
Jeanne d’Arc (1902) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
1910s
Florence Nightingale (1915) – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and healthcare reformer
Joan The Woman (1916) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
1920s
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
1930s
The White Angel (1935) – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and healthcare reformer
Mary of Scotland (1936) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
The Little Princess (1939) – Queen Victoria, English monarch
1940s
Marie Curie (1943) – Marie Sklodowska-Curie, Polish-French scientist
Flight for Freedom (1943) – Amelia Earhart, American aviator
Joan of Arc (1948) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
1950s
The Lady with the Lamp (1951) – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and healthcare reformer
The Virgin Queen (1955) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
Saint Joan (1957) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
1960s
Sunrise at Campobello (1960) – Eleanor Roosevelt, American diplomat and activist
The Miracle Worker (1962) – Helen Keller, American author, political activist, and lecturer
The Miracle Worker (1962) – Annie Sullivan, American educator
Funny Girl (1968) – Fanny Brice, American stage, radio, and film star
1970s
The Christine Jorgensen Story (1970) – Christine Jorgensen, American transgender entertainer
Mary, Queen of Scots (1971) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
Lady Sings the Blues (1972) – Billie Holiday, American singer
Farewell to Manzanar (1973) – Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, American writer
Funny Lady (1975) – Fanny Brice, American stage, radio, and film star
Amelia Earhart (1976) – Amelia Earhart, American aviator
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977) – Eleanor Roosevelt, American diplomat and activist
1980s
Coal Miner’s Daughter (1980) – Loretta Lynn, American country music singer
A Woman Called Golda (1982) – Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister
Five Last Days (1982) – Sophie Scholl, German university student of philosophy and anti-Nazi activist
The White Rose (1982) – Sophie Scholl, German university student of philosophy and anti-Nazi activist
Silkwood (1983) – Karen Silkwood, American lab technician, whistleblower, and union activist
Florence Nightingale (1985) – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and healthcare reformer
Gothic (1986) – Mary Shelley, English writer
Gorillas in the Mist (1988) – Dian Fossey, American scientist, primatologist, and conservation activist
Haunted Summer (1988) – Mary Shelley, English writer
Rowing in the Wind (1988) – Mary Shelley, English writer
1990s
Heaven & Earth (1993) – Le Ly Hayslip, American writer and humanitarian
Jeanne la Pucelle (1994) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
Mr. and Mrs. Loving (1996) – Mildred Loving, American civil rights activist
Selena (1997) – Selena, American tejano singer
Mrs. Brown (1997) – Queen Victoria, English monarch
Elizabeth (1998) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
Shakespeare in Love (1998) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999) – Dorothy Dandridge, American actress
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
Aimée & Jaguar (1999) – Felice Schragenheim, German Jewish member of the anti-Nazi underground
2000s
Boycott (2001) – Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist
George Eliot: A Scandalous Life (2002) – George Eliot, English author
Frida (2002) – Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist and proponent of Mexican folk culture
Rabbit Proof Fence (2002) – Molly Craig Kelly, Australian icon and activist
The Rosa Parks Story (2002) – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist
The Hours (2002) – Virginia Woolf, English author
Veronica Guerin (2003) – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist
Sylvia (2003) – Sylvia Plath, American poet and novelist
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005) – Bettie Page, American pin-up model
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005) – Sophie Scholl, German university student of philosophy and anti-Nazi activist
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
Florence Nightingale (2008) – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and healthcare reformer
Coco Before Chanel (2009) – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer
Julie and Julia (2009) – Julia Child, American chef, author, and TV personality
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) – Amelia Earhart, American aviator
Amelia (2009) – Amelia Earhart, American aviator
2010s
Princess Kaiulani (2010) – Princess Kaiulani, Hawaiian royal and ambassador
Hannah Arendt (2012) – Hannah Arendt, German philosopher and writer
Hitchcock (2012) – Alma Reville, English screenwriter and film editor
The Girl (2012) – Alma Reville, English screenwriter and film editor
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) – Eleanor Roosevelt, American diplomat and activist
The Sapphires (2012) – The Sapphires, Australian singing group
Tracks (2014) – Robyn Davidson, Australian writer and explorer
Selma (2014) – Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist
Woman In Gold (2015) – Maria Altmann, Austrian-American recoverer of stolen art
Queen of the Desert (2015) – Gertrude Bell, English writer, archaeologist, and Middle Eastern policy expert
Truth (2015) – Mary Mapes, American journalist and news producer
Hidden Figures (2016) – Mary Jackson, American aerospace engineer
Hidden Figures (2016) – Katherine Johnson, American mathematician
Hidden Figures (2016) – Dorothy Vaughan, American mathematician and computer programmer
Maudie (2016) – Maud Lewis, Canadian folk artist
Loving (2016) – Mildred Loving, American civil rights activist
The Post (2017) – Katherine Graham, American newspaper publisher and Pulitzer Prize winner
The Battle of the Sexes (2017) – Billie Jean King, American tennis player and activist
Mary Shelley (2017) – Mary Shelley, English writer
Victoria & Abdul (2017) – Queen Victoria, English monarch
The Young Victoria (2017) – Queen Victoria, English monarch
The Greatest Showman (2017) – Queen Victoria, English monarch
Mary Queen of Scots (2018) – Queen Elizabeth I, English monarch
On the Basis of Sex (2018) – Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American Supreme Court justice
Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (2018) – Joan of Arc, French visionary, military leader, martyr, and saint
Behind the Movement (2018) – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist
ALSO OF INTEREST: