Geena Davis
Founder & Chair,
Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Two-time Academy Award winner Geena Davis is one of Hollywood’s most respected actors, appearing in several roles that became cultural landmarks.
Davis received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the offbeat dog trainer Muriel Pritchett in Lawrence Kasdan’s The Accidental Tourist. She was again nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Ridley Scott’s Thelma & Louise, in which she co-starred with Susan Sarandon. Davis went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress for her portrayal of baseball phenomenon ‘Dottie Hinson’ in A League of Their Own.
Earning the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama, Davis broke ground in her portrayal of the first female President of the United States in ABC’s hit show Commander in Chief.
She recently received her second Oscar as the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Board of Governors of the Motion Picture Academy.
Davis made her feature film debut opposite Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie. She went on to star in such films as The Fly, Beetlejuice, Angie, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Stuart Little.
Davis is the Founder and Chair of the non-profit Geena Davis Institute, which works to reinvent, transform and inspire how global content creators and media tell stories through authentic portrayals of the population in entertainment.
The Institute received the Television Academy’s Board of Governors Award in 2022.
Geena is an Executive Producer of the Gracie Award winning feature film This Changes Everything, as well as the Emmy nominated, People’s Choice and Gracie Award winning television show Mission Unstoppable on CBS.
Davis is the Chair of the Bentonville Film Festival, launched in 2015 to champion underrepresented voices in film and other forms of media. BFF’s goal is for the population in front of and behind the camera to reflect the diverse — and half female — world we live in.
Davis is also the author of the best-selling memoir “Dying of Politeness.”
Davis holds honorary degrees from Boston University, Bates College and New England College.
