The Women Who Built Hollywood 12 Trailblazers in Front of and Behind the Camera

Discover the electrifying untold stories of the pioneering and groundbreaking women of Old Hollywood in this nonfiction book perfect for young movie buffs and budding feminists alike. Includes a foreword writen by Marvel Studios' Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Academy Award-Winning Costume Designer Ruth E. Carter.

While recent phenomena like #OscarsSoWhite have reminded us that Hollywood can be an unfriendly place to people of color and to women, they have been an integral part of the industry from the beginning. In the early twentieth century, women from all walks of life fought against sexism and racism to succeed in Hollywood as actors, directors, costume designers, editors, and stuntwomen. From well-known, glamorous starlets like Mary Pickford and Lillian Gish, to under-appreciated trailblazers like Anna May Wong and Hattie McDaniel, acclaimed author Susan Goldman Rubin shows that movies wouldn’t be the same without the women who succeeded against the odds and built Hollywood from the ground up. Filled with fascinating photographs and little-known facts, this rigorously researched book begins with a foreword Ruh E Carter, who won Academy Awards in 2019 and 2023 for her work on Marvel Studios' Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Susan Goldman Rubin is the author of more than 55 books for young people. Her titles include Sing and Shout and Degas, Painter of Ballerinas. Susan has been an instructor in the UCLA Extension Writers' Program for more than 20 years.