Female Filmmaking Firsts: 8 Directors Whose Achievements Opened Doors for Women Behind the Camera

The overwhelming success of “Barbie” — Greta Gerwig’s behemoth blockbuster that ran the country dry on bubble gum-hued paint — didn’t just save the summer box office. It also gave Greta Gerwig the distinct honor of being the first woman to direct a movie that grossed $1 billion on her own.

While there has been no shortage of praise for Gerwig and her team of actors and producers, the actress-turned-director has cemented herself in Hollywood history, setting a sky-scraping bar for women filmmakers who turn to her for inspiration. Coming off the success of “Barbie,” Gerwig hardly basked in her achievement, immediately setting her sights on two ambitious film adaptations of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

While their artistic abilities are better encouraged and represented today, Hollywood wasn’t always a secure place for women with directorial ambitions. But talented women overcame years of obstacles that in turn paved the way for other female firsts to come. 

Although inclusivity is on the rise for women filmmakers in the modern era, men still outrank their female counterparts 20 to 1, according to a recent analysis from USC Annenberg that places Paramount at the bottom of the list among the major studios. With fluctuating data over the course of the 13 years analyzed, women accounted for 4.8% of the total number of directors during the time, despite yielding the same overall Metacritic scores. Female directing demographics are highlighted by the accomplishments of filmmakers like Emerald Fennell and Sofia Coppola who along with Gerwig and others on this list have moved the needle on female inclusivity.

In no particular order, this list outlines groundbreaking filmmakers who were the first women to achieve honorary awards and milestones in their careers.