#Black Women
Quote of the Day: Viola Davis & “The Woman King” Cast on Being Black Women in the Biz & Building Sisterhood
The stars of Gina Prince-Bythewood’s highly anticipated “The Woman King” — Viola Davis, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Thuso Mbedu, and Adrienne Warren — speak frankly...
Finally, Some Real Talk: Podcast Picks
With bad news hurtling toward us on the daily, we need an escape, and we need to be seen. When media, positive or negative, revolves around a singular demographic, it can make anyone on the margins...
Nailah Jefferson to Direct HBO Doc About Pioneering Black Supermodel Donyale Luna
Donyale Luna, the first model of color ever to be featured on the cover of the British edition of Vogue, and one of the first Black models to be featured on the covers of European fashion magazines...
Black Women on Broadway Will Present Inaugural Awards to Lynn Nottage, Qween Jean, & Kara Young
Since 2019, Broadway mainstays Danielle Brooks, Jocelyn Bioh, and Amber Iman have been working to create a support network for Black women working in theater. The trio launched the “Black Women...
Diversity in Cannes Creator Yolonda Brinkley Launches “Dear Cannes, Do Better,” Calls for More Inclusion
Yolonda Brinkley, the creator of inclusion movement Diversity in Cannes, is celebrating the festival’s 75th edition by urging it to make more of an effort — specifically to...
Tiffany Johnson & Kiana Moore’s Fashion Fair Doc “The Beauty of Blackness” Lands at HBO Max
In honor of Women’s History Month, HBO Max has acquired a documentary tracing the creation, rise, and continued significance of Fashion Fair, the first cosmetics brand specifically designed for...
Jazmin Jones Directing “Seeking Mavis Beacon” Doc, Neon Signs on as Producer
Since the ’80s, Mavis Beacon has helped millions of people learn how to type. She is one of the most prominent Black women in technology. But she isn’t real — or at least the woman...
Quote of the Day: Gabrielle Union Calls Out Hollywood’s Fake Meritocracy in Book Foreword
Gabrielle Union has nearly 90 acting credits on IMDb. She has appeared on-screen since the mid-90s. She has had scene-stealing turns in cult classics and blockbusters alike, from “Bring It...
Jemele Hill to Launch Unbothered Podcast Network to Elevate Black Women’s Voices
Award-winning journalist and producer Jemele Hill is set to launch a new podcast network, The Unbothered Network, which will focus on elevating the voices and stories of Black women. The Hollywood...
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” Renewed for Season 3 at HBO
“A Black Lady Sketch Show” *clap clap* is getting another season *clap clap*. A press release has confirmed Robin Thede’s groundbreaking sketch series has been renewed for Season 3...
Pick of the Day: “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Get ready for conspiracy theories, the best spy in the world, a new take on the Last Supper, and cameos galore. “A Black Lady Sketch Show” is finally back. Created by Robin Thede, the...
New Report Finds Black Women in Family Films More Likely to Work in STEM Than Other Female Characters, But Colorism Persists
The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media’s latest study considered the representation of Black women and girls in family entertainment over the past decade — and came to some...
Pick of the Day: “How It Feels To Be Free”
Black women have been the backbone of social justice movements throughout history. PBS’ new “American Masters” entry, “How It Feels To Be Free” tells the story of six of...
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Fest’s Final Week to Showcase Works by Felicia Pride & More
This year’s edition of the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival has confirmed its final week’s titles and events. The fest, an annual affair founded by African Voices magazine and...
Pick of the Day: “Bad Hair”
If you’re already missing “Lovecraft Country” and wishing HBO would just go ahead and frickin’ renew it already, then “Bad Hair” is just what the doctor ordered....
Teaser Watch: Elle Lorraine Deals with Some Truly “Bad Hair” in Hulu’s Horror Satire
“You’re not tender-headed, are you?” a hairdresser (Laverne Cox) asks her customer in the new teaser for “Bad Hair.” Anna (Elle Lorraine, “Insecure”), the...
Alicia Keys & Yoruba Richen Teaming Up for PBS Doc About Trailblazing Black Female Entertainers
Alicia Keys and Yoruba Richen are joining forces on “How It Feels To Be Free,” an “American Masters” documentary spotlighting six pioneering Black female entertainers. Richen...
Essence Honors Niecy Nash, Melina Matsoukas, Lashana Lynch, Janet Mock, and the Cast of “Pose”
Essence’s recent Black Women in Hollywood event did what the rest of the 2020 awards season wouldn’t: it honored women of color, multiple women of color. The annual awards ceremony and...
Chicago Arts Center Sisters in Cinema Announces Documentary Fellowship Recipients
Sisters in Cinema, a South Side Chicago-based media arts center supporting black women, girls, and non-binary individuals, has selected three first-time women filmmakers for its Documentary...
Anthology Series About Women of the Civil Rights Movement Being Developed at ABC
The women of the civil rights movement will take center stage in a new ABC anthology series. Written by Marissa Jo Cerar (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), the project, tentatively titled...
Subject, Not Object: The Revelatory Sex Scenes in “If Beale Street Could Talk”
In November 2016 in Washington, D.C., I caught a preview of Barry Jenkins’ soon-to-be Oscar-winning film “Moonlight.” This was way before White audiences had caught on to the movie, and those...
In Search of Self: Crowdfunding Picks
Almost every woman can relate to the pressure to conform or compromise oneself — the struggle to be heard and seen, valued and understood. Yet so few stories accurately or realistically...
Black Actresses Protest Industry Racism at Cannes
The 2018 Cannes Film Festival has seen another powerful women-led protest. Per AFP, 16 black and mixed-race actresses took to the red carpet Wednesday to stand up to to racism in the French film...
Addressing Adversity: Crowdfunding Picks
Whether it’s an inescapable reality of everyday life, or catalyzed by a change in our circumstances, we’ve all faced adversity. For many, multiple systems of oppression intersect to pose...
Victoria Mahoney Makes History as Second Unit Director on Next “Star Wars” Film
The “Star Wars” franchise is finally getting a bit more diverse behind the scenes. Deadline confirms that “Yelling to the Sky” director Victoria Mahoney will be the second unit director on...
Quote of the Day: Lena Waithe Wants to Tell More Black, Queer Stories
“I am tired of white folks telling my stories,” actress, writer, and producer Lena Waithe said in Vanity Fair’s April 2018 cover story. “We gotta tell our shit. Can’t no one tell a black...
Tiffany Haddish & Lena Waithe Among Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Awardees
Whether they starred in the summer’s breakout comedy, became the first black woman to win an Emmy for comedy writing, or broke barriers in the Marvel universe, Tiffany Haddish, Lena Waithe, Tessa...
Black Herstory Month: February’s VOD and Web Series Picks
We’re kicking off Black History Month with some Black Herstory: our VOD and web series selections are all written and directed by Black women. This month’s VOD picks come from two participants...
Lena Waithe’s “The Chi” Renewed for Season 2, Ayanna Floyd Davis Named New Showrunner
Showtime is making itself at home in “The Chi.” Shadow and Act reports that Lena Waithe’s sprawling Southside Chicago-set drama will receive a second season. Series writer Ayanna Floyd Davis...
Biopic About Oscar-Winning Actress Hattie McDaniel in the Works
McDaniel: Wikimedia Commons History-making actress Hattie McDaniel is getting the biopic treatment. McDaniel — the first African-American person to win an Oscar — will be the subject of a...
Jada Pinkett Smith Criticizes Hollywood Foreign Press for “Girls Trip” Golden Globes Snub
“Girls Trip” made more than $115 million at the domestic box office — from a budget of $19 million — and its breakoug star Tiffany Haddish is fast becoming one of the most in-demand...
Black Panther Leader Elaine Brown’s Memoir to Be Adapted for the Screen
The story of Elaine Brown, the only woman to serve as a Black Panther Party leader, is coming to the big screen. The Firm has obtained the rights to Brown’s 1992 memoir, “A Taste of Power: A...
Film About Racketeer Stephanie St. Clair in Development at HBO
A fter presenting the Oprah Winfrey-starring, Emmy nominated film “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” earlier this year, HBO is planning to bring another historically overlooked...
Quote of the Day: Amandla Stenberg on the Power of Seeing Complex Black Women in Film
Despite evidence that films with diverse casts enjoy higher box office receipts than their non-diverse counterparts, on-screen racial inclusivity is still a rarity. This was on Amandla Stenberg’s...
Octavia Spencer Teams with LeBron James for Madam C.J. Walker Series
As we previously reported, Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer is set to star as entrepreneur and social activist Madam C.J. Walker in a limited drama series based on A’Lelia Bundles’...
Lena Waithe Talks Her Emmy Nod, Coming Out Stories, and #FirstTimeISawMe
“Master of None’s” Season 2 episode “Thanksgiving” traces the years-long coming out story of Denise, played by Lena Waithe. But Waithe, who wrote the episode with series co-creator and...
Biopic About Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer Is in the Works
Black women were and are a major force in the fight for civil rights, but it is still so rare for the Hollywood biopic machine to greenlight projects about activists like Anne Moody, Maya Angelou,...
Quote of the Day: Halle Berry Talks the Lack of Change Since Her Historic 2002 Oscar Win
“This is for every nameless, faceless woman of color who now has a chance because this door has been opened,” a triumphant Halle Berry announced when she won the Best Actress Oscar for...
Trailer Watch: The Bordelon Legacy Is at Stake in “Queen Sugar” Season 2
“We are a family,” Violet Bordelon (Tina Lifford) tells her nieces Nova and Charley (Rutina Wesley and Dawn-Lyen Gardner) in the trailer for Season 2 of “Queen Sugar.” “Somehow, someway,...
Robin Thede to Host Weekly Late-Night Show on BET
Robin Thede is returning to late-night TV. The former “Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore” head writer and contributor will host and exec produce “The Rundown With Robin Thede” for BET. The...
Beyoncé Announces Formation Scholarship Program for College Women
Beyoncé is inviting four women to join the formation. In honor of “Lemonade’s” first anniversary, the Grammy award-winning artist and media mogul has unveiled plans for Formation Scholars, a...
Bravo Developing Drama Series About African-American Female Mayor
Bravo has elected a female mayor. According to Deadline, the network is developing “Candy,” a drama about the youngest — and first African-American female — mayor in an unnamed...
Finding the Balance: Crowdfunding Picks
If you’re an avid reader of Women and Hollywood (and if you’re not, welcome!) the disparities between men and women in the film industry are of no surprise. These seemingly never-ending...
Free Screenings for “Hidden Figures” and Public Screenings for “13th” Announced
Haven’t had a chance to see “Hidden Figures”? Want to host a screening of “13th” for your school? You’re in luck: Both films have been granted screening access. According to Deadline,...
Shonda Rhimes Acquires Rights to Luvvie Ajayi’s Book “I’m Judging You”
Shonda Rhimes has done it again. She’s hard at work at yet another amazing-sounding and inclusive project. Shondaland and ABC Signature Studios obtained the rights to writer Luvvie Ajayi’s first...
Octavia Spencer Formally Announces Her Future as a Producer
“I’m really drawn to stories that haven’t really been told,” Octavia Spencer said in a sit-down with Gloria Steinem at the annual Makers Conference. The actress believes movies should...
Essence and the Paley Center Announce Exhibit Celebrating Black Women in Hollywood
If you find yourself in Beverly Hills this month, you may just get the chance to admire Olivia Pope’s famous attire in person. Essence and the Paley Center for Media are teaming up to launch...
Janelle Monaé, Issa Rae Among Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood Honorees
Essence has announced the honorees of its 2017 Black Women in Hollywood Awards. Musician and “Hidden Figures” star Janelle Monaé, “Insecure’s” Issa Rae, “How to Get Away with...
ABC in Early Talks for “Black-ish” Spinoff Starring Yara Shahidi
There aren’t many television series focused on young women of color. There are even less that depict college life. The potential “Black-ish” spinoff could be an antidote to both those...
Upcoming BAM Exhibition Celebrates Black Women’s Cinema
Cinephiles, your February just became a whole lot busier. Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) recently announced its “One Way or Another: Black Women’s Cinema, 1970–1991” exhibition, which...
Regina King Lands Deal at ABC
Emmy winner Regina King has landed a two-year deal with ABC studios for her production company Royal Ties, Shadow and Act reports. She runs the company with her sister, Reina King, whose official...