Women are winning big at the box office in entertainment. Movies starring women make more money. Out of 300 films made recently only 100 had female leading roles but those films brought in lots of money more than the male lead films. The leading lady films are getting money attention as well at award attention. Sadly only 4% of films in the last 11 years were directed by women. That means that there is   only one female director to every 20 male directors. Women leads are now key to getting billions of dollars at the box office.

Sadly America has lost one of the most famous female directors known for her acting and great films. Penny Marshall died this year at the age of 75 due to complications from diabetes. We knew her from TV as Laverne in the 1970’s comedy series called Laverne & Shirley that was about two hard working single girls trying to make it on their own terms in life. The girls remained close for the past 40 years. She probably wouldn’t have become a famous anything if it wasn’t without the help of her brother Gary Marshall who produced the original Odd Couple TV series and Happy Days where the Laverne & Shirley girls dated the Fonz and Richie. Even Jay Leno was her love interest on her own show. She was allowed to direct four episodes of her own show and then the industry approached her to direct as well and her first directing film was the success movie called Jumping Jack Flash staring a woman, Whoopi Goldberg. Two years later she made movie history with the iconic movie called Big starring Tom Hanks dancing on the piano keys in a toy store.

With the movie called Big she became the first woman to make a film grossing over one hundred million dollars.  Four years later she took on Tom Hanks again and directed A League of Their Own casting Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell in her   first film. Penny thought it was important to have America see a true story of how women kept baseball alive during World War II. Yes, sometimes it takes a woman to appreciate other women.  She directed Robert De Nero and Robin Williams in the film called Awakenings that was not a comedy. It had to be hard to make the comedic   genius Robin to not be funny in that film.  She did the Preacher’s Wife with Whitney Houston and   Denzel Washington and demanded a script re-write emphasizing more hope, love and believing in yourself and asking Whitney to sing Gospel music in the film. So what could go wrong there? Nothing!

She did Renaissance Man with Danny DeVito and somehow made him go from silly to sensitive. Penny took a chance and cast a young rapper   Mark Wahlberg   in that movie that launched his career too.  She directed 12 films including Riding In Cars with Boys. With all her career accomplishments she also was a survivor of lung cancer that spread to her brain. Penny will be missed but we need other women to still take on Hollywood and produce and direct movies from a clearly woman’s prospective.