Geena Davis's BU Return

Geena Davis (CFA'79, Hon.'99), the Oscar- and Golden Globe-lauded actress whose roles include half of the feminist anthem Thelma and Louise and the first woman president in the TV series Commander in Chief, recently returned to BU to discuss her career and gender work.

The former Claflin Hall resident spoke to a full auditorium about gender roles, tying into her work with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, an organization that advocates for more portrayals and fewer stereotypes of females in children's media.

When not acting or working on behalf of her institute, Davis lobbies publicly on behalf of women's school sports and the federal Title IX program supporting them.
Davis won her Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1988's The Accidental Tourist and was nominated in 1992 for best actress for Thelma and Louise. Among the films she's starred in are The Fly, Beetlejuice, and A League of Their Own. She is a member-at-large of the California Commission on the Status of Women and works with UNIFEM, the women's empowerment fund of the United Nations, on media gender issues.

Davis was introduced to the audience by Will Lyman (CFA'71), who co-starred with her in Commander in Chief.

Hosted by the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, in conjunction with the Friends of the Libraries of Boston University Speaker Series, on November 30, 2010.

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Education

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• geena davis
• howard gotlieb
• gender in media
• friends of the libraries
• title IX
• will lyman
• cfa
• Lectures