-- By Stephanie Ornelas
When Octavia Spencer and Sandra Oh spoke at the Women Breaking Barriers panel during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, they had a lot to say about what it means to rise above in the filmmaking industry as women actors-turned-producers.
Everyone has value, said Spencer. And women have to produce. Women are in demand, leading films. On paper they're already making money because they're going to produce it for less than what it costs to produce male vehicles. Let's start there, ladies. She was met with a thundering applause.
But Oh and Spencer aren't the only women producers in filmmaking seeking to have their voices heard. Kerry Washngton, Salma Hayek, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and so many others are making the crossover to behind the scenes work as producers and executive producers on stellar films - many that premiered here at the Sundance Film Festival.
In honor of Women's History Month, we're highlighting seven women actors who are making big moves as producers.
Kerry Washington
Many know her for her role as Olivia Pope on Scandal, but Kerry Washington is also known for her work on The Fight, a film about the ACLU's efforts to stand up against the Trump administration. The documentary premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
America Ferrera
America Ferrera was just a teen when she landed the lead role in Real Women Have Curves. Today, she's a successful actor-producer having produced the 2010 Sundance Film Festival hit, The Dry Land, a film about a soldier's journey back to civilian life after returning from Iraq, which she also stars in.
Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman is known for a handful of groundbreaking roles in films like Black Swan, Star Wars, and Thor. But she recently went behind the camera to merge two of her greatest passions: filmmaking and veganism. Her film Eating Animals - an examination of the environmental, economic and public health consequences of factory farming - premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Salma Hayek
Salma Hayek delivered an outstanding performance as mexican painter Frida Kahlo in the 2002 film Frida, and several other roles following that, but some may not know she's been a skilled director and executive producer for some time now, including The Maldonado Miracle, which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the story of a young Mexican boy in the United States who hides in a church to avoid authorities after he injures his arm. When blood from his wound falls on a statue of Jesus, people think it's a miracle and everyone flocks to the small town.
Jada Pinkett Smith
You probably recognize her in The Nutty Professor, Girls Trip, and more recently, The Matrix: Resurrections, but Jada Pinkett Smith also produced the Sundance 2016 Festival short Hala. The film is based on director Minhal Baig's own life and dynamic with her parents, who are immigrants from Pakistan.
Octavia Spencer
Beloved actor Octavia Spencer (The Help,Ma), is no stranger to the Sundance Institute and Festival having acted in several Sundance films.She's produced several projects including Fruitvale Station, a film that tells the true story about a 22-year-old Black man who is trying hard to live a clean life. Flashbacks reveal the last day in his life, in which he accompanied his family to San Francisco just before getting swept up in an altercation with police. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival.
Sandra Oh
Known primarily for her role in Gray's Anatomy and, to so many millennials, the hilarious principal in The Princess Diaries, Sandra Oh has gone on to produce projects like Umma and Killing Eve. Oh, who has spoken in previous Festival Panels about women making moves in filmmaking, and has been seen regularly at past Sundance Festivals, having served as a juror in the past.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
-- By Stephanie Ornelas 
