Line #33 Creator/GeenaDavis


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/geena_davis.jpg]]
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3	->''"When my friends and I would act out movies as kids, we'd play the guys' roles, since they had the most interesting things to do. Decades later, I can hardly believe my sons and daughter are seeing many of the same limited choices in current films."''
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5	Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis (born January 21, 1956 in Wareham, Massachusetts) is an American actor[[note]]a term [[InsistentTerminology she prefers to use]] rather than ''actress'', finding it more gender-neutral[[/note]], film producer, writer, activist, and former fashion model.
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7	She is known for her roles in ''Film/{{The Fly\|1986}}'' (1986), ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' (1988), ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' (1991), ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' (1992), ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'' (1996), and ''Film/StuartLittle'' (1999). She won the 1988 UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Supporting Actress for ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist'', and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress along with her co-star Creator/SusanSarandon for ''Thelma & Louise''.
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9	At the turn of the millennium, out of frustration with the ongoing lack of quality, high-profile roles for women in film and television, she established the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to advocate for change; her ongoing work in this regard won her an ''honorary'' Academy Award (the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, to be specific) in 2019.
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11	Oh, and, she placed 24th out of 300 in the qualifying trials for the U.S. womens UsefulNotes/{{archery}} team for the 2000 Olympics, not quite making the team.
12	----
13	!!Selected Filmography
14	* ''Film/{{Tootsie}}'' (1982)
15	* ''Series/FamilyTies'' (1984–1986)
16	* ''Film/{{Fletch}}'' (1985)
17	* ''Film/Transylvania65000'' (1985)
18	* ''Film/{{The Fly\|1986}}'' (1986)
19	* ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' (1988)
20	* ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'' (1988)
21	* ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist'' (1988)
22	* ''Film/QuickChange'' (1990)
23	* ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' (1991)
24	* ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' (1992)
25	* ''Film/AccidentalHero'' (1992)
26	* ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' (1995)
27	* ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'' (1996)
28	* ''Film/StuartLittle'' films (1999–2005)
29	** ''Stuart Little'' (1999)
30	** ''Stuart Little 2'' (2002)
31	** ''Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild'' (2005; voice)
32	* ''Series/CommanderInChief'' (2005–2006)
33	* ''Literature/{{Coma}}'' (2012)
34	* ''Film/InAWorld'' (2013)
35	* ''Anime/WhenMarnieWasThere'' (2014; voice of Yoriko Sasaki in the English version)
36	* ''Series/GreysAnatomy'' (2014–2015)
37	* ''Series/TheExorcist'' (2016)
38	* ''Theatre/MarjoriePrime'' (2017)
39	* ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' (2019; voice)
40	* ''Series/{{GLOW\|2017}}'' (2019)
41	* ''Film/{{Ava}}'' (2020)
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43	!! Tropes associated with her roles:
44	* AwesomeDearBoy: Her role in ''WesternAnimation/SheRaAndThePrincessesOfPower'' came about because she was touring the animation studio on behalf of her charity, and was so impressed she announced that any shows wanting her to make an appearance only had to ask!
45	* BillingDisplacement: In ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist'' she is billed after Creator/KathleenTurner, despite having a bigger part than her.
46	* CareerResurrection: Attempted with ''Series/CommanderInChief''. Despite great reviews, [[AcclaimedFlop it was a ratings dud]] and was prematurely cancelled. While time will tell if she can officially achieve this trope, she does still work in both film and TV (focusing on productions that have juicy and/or unusual roles for women) while her advocacy work for female performers and creatives in general continues apace.
47	* CreatorBacklash: She begged to be let off ''Film/CutthroatIsland'', realising it would be a disaster. The studio forced her and Renny Harlin to stay on by contract.
48	* CreatorCouple: She and her husband Renny Harlin collaborated on ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' and ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight''.
49	* TheOtherMarty: Creator/DebraWinger pulled out of ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' and Geena replaced her.
50	* PlayingAgainstType: In ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' as an ActionGirl.
51	* PlayingWithCharacterType: In ''Film/TheLongKissGoodnight'' her character Samantha Caine starts out as a quirky lady like Geena's normal type. But then her EasyAmnesia lifts and she becomes a cold-hearted assassin.
52	* RealitySubtext: In ''Film/ALeagueOfTheirOwn'' Doris asks Dottie "what are you, a genius?" and Geena actually has a 140 IQ - so she actually counts as a genius.
53	* RomanceOnTheSet: She met Creator/JeffGoldblum on the set of ''Transylvania 6-5000'', and were in a relationship by the time he accepted the part of the DoomedProtagonist of ''Film/TheFly1986''. She liked the script as well (she was helping him learn lines) and ended up getting the role of his onscreen love interest, resulting in an extreme inversion of the CoupleBomb. They made one more film together, ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'', and were married mid-shoot in 1987. They divorced in 1990.
54	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: ''Accidents Happen'' features her starring alongside Harry Cook and Harrison Gilbertson - who she herself says resemble her real life twin sons.
55	* StarDerailingRole: The failure of ''Film/CutthroatIsland'' - by nature of it being one of the biggest {{Box Office Bomb}}s in history - marked the decline of Geena's bankability as a star.
56	* StarMakingRole: ''Film/TheFly1986'' was only her fourth feature and first movie lead, but boosted her profile so much that her next two films were ''Film/{{Beetlejuice}}'' and ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist'', the latter of which won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. In fact, an interview shot for the retrospective documentary ''Fear of the Flesh: The Making of The Fly'' has her recounting how during the long hours spent preparing Creator/JeffGoldblum's makeup she would read books to him, one of which was the just-published ''Accidental Tourist''. She knew there were plans for a movie version at that point, [[HilariousInHindsight and was ruing her luck that she had no chance of landing the juicy role of Muriel...]]
57	* StatuesqueStunner: She's six feet tall and, well, look at her.
58	* ThoseTwoActors:
59	** With Creator/JeffGoldblum (who is also her ex-husband) in ''Film/EarthGirlsAreEasy'', ''Film/TheFly1986'', and ''Film/Transylvania65000''.
60	** She and Creator/JeffreyJones also star in ''Film/StuartLittle'' and ''{{Film/Beetlejuice}}''.
61	* ThrowItIn:
62	** A scene in ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'' has Louise calling from the car to Thelma at the motel pool. Thelma was supposed to get up and get in the car, but Geena had the volume up too high on her walkman and couldn't hear Creator/SusanSarandon calling her. Susan got up and grabbed the headphones off her, startling her. This is used in the finished film.
63	** Subverted in another scene in the same movie. Thelma and Louise's reactions to the truck being blown up were supposed to be genuine. But when the two actresses saw the explosion, they were so astonished that they forgot to react. So Creator/RidleyScott had to go back and film their reaction shots again.
64	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
65	** In the 90s, a ''Franchise/SailorMoon'' live-action film was being developed, and Geena was the number one choice to play Queen Beryl, but the project was shelved.
66	** Geena was cast first in ''Film/ThelmaAndLouise'', but it took so long to find an actress to play Louise, that she signed a contract saying she could be cast as her if they couldn't get anyone.
67	** ''Film/TheAccidentalTourist'' nearly cast Creator/JessicaLange as Muriel, but Geena was the one who got the part.

Context Creator / GeenaDavis