Film has always been a battleground for visionary thinkers, innovative risk-takers, and barrier-breakers, and many of the most fiery revolutionaries have been women. Working often behind the curtain or fighting for room in the spotlight, these women didn’t only create the film world—they remapped culture itself. From ancient pioneers to contemporary visionaries, their impact reaches far beyond the silver screen. Let’s start counting down ten women whose legacy on film is indelible, strong, and unstoppable.
10. Qiu Jin – A Revolutionary Spirit Who Lit the Fuse
Long before the silver screen dominated the world, Qiu Jin was redefining women’s stories in China. A revolutionary poet, freedom fighter, and scourge of oppressive traditions, she fought for women’s rights to learning, independence, and self-respect. Although she existed before the golden age of cinema, her legacy has found echoes in generations of filmmakers who have placed women’s resilience and resistance at the heart of their narratives.
9. Sanmao – A Voice That Crossed the Globe
Sanmao (Chen Mao Ping) was a storyteller whose very personal tales of travel touched readers’ hearts across the world. Her candid musings on identity, autonomy, and womanhood allowed women to dream of a life without boundaries. Her writings have been adapted into films and TV shows, reminding us that storytelling can be personal yet universal.
8. Wang Zhenyi – A Mind Well Ahead of Her Time
A mathematician, astronomer, and poet in the Qing Dynasty, Wang Zhenyi shattered the intellectual barriers set for women at that time. She self-taught herself in sciences that were normally forbidden for women and wrote pieces that defied conventional thought. Her bold quest for knowledge still resonates in tales of women who refuse to be silenced by the status quo.
7. Song Qingling – Power and Principle on the World Stage
As a political leader in China and an early champion of women’s rights, Song Qingling exercised power in an era when women were not given a voice. Her struggle for social justice and equality set the stage for dramatizations that underscore women’s political power—and should be exercised—today. Her life reminds us continually that women’s lives are both personal and deeply political.
6. Dorothy Arzner – The Director Who Kicked the Door Open
One of the earliest and only women to direct during early Hollywood, Dorothy Arzner left her impression in an industry that usually excluded women. Directing more than 20 films from the 1920s to the 1940s, she invented the use of the boom mic. Being openly queer in a world that expected conformity, she blazed her trail and encouraged countless others to follow in her footsteps.
5. Ida Lupino – Filmmaking with a Conscience
Beginning as an actress with a penchant for tough roles, Ida Lupino eventually crossed behind the camera to share tales Hollywood wouldn’t touch—rape, disability, class conflict. She was one of the first women directors of socially conscious independent films in the 1950s, making raw, humane films that set the stage for generations of filmmakers to come with a message to deliver.
4. Lina Wertmüller – Breaking Barriers with Boldness
Lina Wertmüller’s films were brazen, political, and in-your-face feminist. Her films, such as Seven Beauties, pushed viewers away with their black humor and ambiguous characters, and in 1976, she was the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director. She proved that women behind the camera could be tough, strong, and artistically bold.
3. Ava DuVernay – Storytelling as Social Change
With movies such as Selma and 13th, Ava DuVernay redefined the meaning of socially conscious filmmaking in Hollywood. Her films confront injustice head-on, amplifying the voice of communities that have long been silenced. In addition to directing, she has given voice to others through endeavors such as ARRAY, demonstrating that elevating others is just as revolutionary as the narrative we share.
2. Chloé Zhao – Redefining What Cinema Can Be
Chloé Zhao’s lyrical fusion of documentary realism and interior drama has reshaped what film can do. With Nomadland, she was the first woman of Asian descent to win Best Director at the Academy Awards. Whatever she investigates – marginalized communities or the inner experiences of outsiders – Zhao’s filmmaking pushes genre boundaries and makes humanity the focus of every shot.
1. Greta Gerwig – Making the Personal Universal
Greta Gerwig has redefined contemporary filmmaking with narratives that are intensely personal but universally compelling. From the adolescence-softened sweetness of Lady Bird, to the period-redone depth of Little Women, to the cultural juggernaut of Barbie, Gerwig demonstrates that women’s narratives can be close-up and globally impactful. She’s not only making movies—she’s reconfiguring the business itself.
As film scholar Karla Rae Fuller, PhD, puts it, women’s impact in film is only increasing. But there’s still room to break through. These ten women didn’t just make an impact—they broke the rules. And the next generation of writers and directors is already rewriting their history, one frame at a time.