With International Women’s Day just around the corner, one great way to celebrate is to reflect on the inspirational stories of the women who have left lasting impressions on the world. Whether as lawyers, journalists, or artists, women have spearheaded significant movements that have paved the way for women today.
From Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Harriet Tubman, there are women who have largely created the lives women today can lead. Their and other women's inspiring contributions around the world may remind young children today of their potential and their ability to leave an impact. Here are ten biopics about iconic women who have changed the world.
Erin Brockovich (2000)
This movie is a 2000 legal drama that follows the true story of activist Erin Brockovich (Julie Roberts), who takes on a passionate fight against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, who unlawfully dumped 370 million gallons of contaminated water into ponds throughout Hinkley, California.
Brockovich took on a life-changing case against PG&E, creating an inspiring portrait of what a single person can do with their voice and a firm belief in the good. This biographical drama directed by Steven Soderbergh garnered 5 Oscar nominations and a BAFTA, SAG, and Golden Globe win for actress Roberts.
Frida (2002)
Salma Hayek plays Mexican painter Frida Kahlo in this 2002 biopic about the artist’s life. The film begins with the near-death car accident Kahlo experiences at 18 years old, which set in motion her career as a painter. The movie explores numerous facets of Kahlo’s life, including her relationships in 1920s and 1930s Mexico and her journeys to New York and Paris, concluding with her declining health that leads to a series of amputations and bedridden immobility.
Frida is a powerful portrait of a woman who faced many ups and downs in her life and became memorialized as an iconic surrealist portrait painter whose paintings still circulate the world today. The biopic won two Academy Awards and was an official Movie of the Year selection for the American Film Institute.
A Private War (2018)
This 2018 drama tells the biographical story of The Sunday Times journalist Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike). As she copes with PTSD after being shot while on assignment in Sri Lanka, she meets Paul Conroy (Jamie Dornan), a war photographer, and the two decide to cover the Syrian crisis in 2012.
Colvin raises awareness of the Syrian crisis in American news, but soon after she is killed by a series of explosions in the surrounding area of Homs, Syria. The film features interviews from the real-life Marie Colvin and is a jarring but admirable homage to the power of journalism and the women putting their lives on the line to tell these stories of an often removed world.
Colette (2018)
Colette is the true story of French writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, played by Keira Knightley. The movie chronicles the toxic relationship between Colette and her husband Willy (Dominic West), who publishes a series of books written by Colette in his own name.
Their relationship grows increasingly manipulative, as Willy even goes so far as to lock Colette in her room until she finishes writing the next sequel he has promised his publisher.
Hidden Figures (2016)
This film follows three African-American mathematicians -- Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) --, who work at NASA during the era of the Space Race. The women must overcome daily obstacles for both their race and their gender, and this 2016 biopic is a powerful and inspiring story about being a woman in STEM and, even more poignantly, being a woman of color in STEM and an organization as big as NASA that impacted the progress of science in America.
Woman Walks Ahead (2018)
This biographical Western is about artist and National Indian Defense Association activist Caroline Weldon (Jessica Chastain), who goes to the Dakotas in 1890s America to paint a living portrait of Lakota leader Sitting Bull (Michael Greyeyes) in the midst of rising tensions with local Americans intent on fighting the natives, which would culminate in the Wounded Knee Massacre.
Two portraits by Weldon of Sitting Bull still exist, with one held by the North Dakota Historical Society in Bismarck, North Dakota, and the other at the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock, Arkansas. Woman Walks Ahead was distributed by A24 and DirecTV Cinema and first premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Bessie (2015)
This HBO original tells the biographical story of Bessie Smith (Queen Latifah), who is a blues singer from Chattanooga, Tennessee. The stakes increase in Bessie's life as she becomes orphaned at a young age and, despite her slowly growing success as a musician, faces daily accounts of racism from white guests during her shows and the Ku Klux Klan.
Like many struggling artists, Bessie eventually slips into alcoholism and worsening mental health. After weathering these innumerable struggles, though, Bessie fights for a successful comeback, and her music continues to live on. The film was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards and won for Outstanding Television Movie.
The Iron Lady (2011)
The Iron Lady is a 2011 biographical drama about former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was the first woman to serve in the political position. The film follows Thatcher’s journey from humble beginnings as the daughter of a grocer to her studies at Oxford University and, after that, to the male-dominated political sphere. The film concludes with Thatcher's resignation after 11 years of representing the Conservative party.
Thatcher carved a path for herself in a world that wouldn’t have allowed for her otherwise, and she is aptly referred to as the “iron lady” for her fierce and persistent leadership. Meryl Streep won the Golden Globe for Best Actress and a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her portrayal of Thatcher in this biopic.
On the Basis of Sex (2018)
This 2018 movie tells the biographical story of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who has been a longtime symbol of women’s rights and spent her entire life advocating for a woman’s right to the same treatment and opportunities as men, including educational opportunities and wage inequality.
The film follows Ginsberg (played by Felicity Jones) from the start of her law career as one of the few and first women to attend Harvard Law School to her fight in a landmark tax case that set the early grounds for sex discrimination laws. The movie concludes with a touching scene of actress Jones walking up the steps of the Supreme Court and transitioning to the real-life Ginsberg finishing the walk.
Harriet (2019)
This biographical film tells the story of Harriet Tubman, the American abolitionist who frequently risked her own life to guide slaves through the Underground Railroad to free states. In her mission, Tubman ended up saving more than 70 enslaved people, and this 2019 biopic starring Cynthia Erivo chronicles the beginning of Tubman’s journey as an abolitionist to her triumphant fight in a Civil War battle at the very end. The film casts a poignant light on the struggle for freedom and, even when freed, the continuing battle against systemic racism left by such an institution.