Christine de Pizan or Pisan, was an Italian-born French poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes.
The Book of the City of Ladies, or Le Livre de la Cité des Dames, is a book written by Christine de Pizan believed to have been finished by 1405. Perhaps Pizan's most famous literary work, it is her second work of lengthy prose. Pizan uses the vernacular French language to compose the book, but she often uses Latin-style syntax and conventions within her French prose. The book serves as her formal response to Jean de Meun's popular Roman de la Rose. Pizan combats Meun's statements about women by creating an allegorical city of ladies. She defends women by collecting a wide array of famous women throughout history. These women are "housed" in the City of Ladies, which is actually the book. As Pizan builds her city, she uses each famous woman as a building block for not only the walls and houses of the city, but also as building blocks for her thesis. Each woman introduced to the city adds to Pizan's argument towards women as valued participants in society. She also advocates in favour of education for women.
Fran Brill is an American retired actress and puppeteer, best known for her roles on Sesame Street, as well as playing Sally Hayes in the Hal Ashby film Being There (1979), Dana Mardukas in the Martin Brest film Midnight Run (1988) and Lily Marvin in the Frank Oz film What About Bob? (1991).
Perrette Pradier was a French actress and dubbing director. She is best known for her work as a voice actress which earned her the nickname of "Queen" or "High Priestess" of dubbing.
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films Mystic Pizza (1988) and Say Anything... (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s independent cinema through starring roles in Bright Angel (1990), Dogfight (1991), Household Saints, Short Cuts, The Addiction (1995), I Shot Andy Warhol, Girls Town, Pecker (1998), and A Slipping-Down Life (1999). Taylor is the recipient of four Independent Spirit nominations, winning once in the category of Best Supporting Female. Her other accolades include one Golden Globe Award and nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Suzanne Pleshette was an American actress. Pleshette was known for her roles in theatre, film, and television. She received nominations for three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. For her role as Emily Hartley on the CBS sitcom The Bob Newhart Show (1972–1978) she received two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.
Jessica Boone is an American film, television, theatre, and voice actress. Her earlier career while she lived in Houston involved work primarily for ADV Films, Funimation, Sentai Filmworks, and Seraphim Digital. She has since focused more on theatre work, including both Shakespeare and musical theatre.
Christine Lakin is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC/CBS sitcom Step by Step. She also played Joan of Arc on Showtime's Reefer Madness, was the sidekick on Craig Kilborn's 2010 Fox talk show The Kilborn File, and provides the voice of Joyce Kinney in Family Guy.
Argentina Brunetti was an Argentine stage and film actress and writer.
Beatrice Winde was an American actress. Her work as a character actor, and a singer, in theatrical, television, and film roles, spanned several decades.
Eric Johann Johnson is a Canadian actor known for playing Flash Gordon on the eponymous 2007–2008 television series, Whitney Fordman on the superhero series Smallville, Detective Luke Callaghan on the police drama Rookie Blue, and Jack Hyde in the Fifty Shades film series. Since 2022, he has played a misogynist corrupt sheriff in the HBO Max horror series Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.
Rebecca Maria Hall Spector is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at age 10 in the 1992 television adaptation of The Camomile Lawn, directed by her father, Sir Peter Hall. Her professional stage debut came in her father's 2002 production of Mrs. Warren's Profession, which earned her the Ian Charleson Award.
Liliane Montevecchi was a French-Italian actress, dancer, and singer.
Ana María Simo is a New York playwright, essayist and novelist. Born in Cuba, educated in France, and writing in English, she has collaborated with such experimental artists as composer Zeena Parkins, choreographer Stephanie Skura and filmmakers Ela Troyano and Abigail Child.
Suzanne Friedline is an American actress and voice artist. She has appeared in numerous movies and TV series, as well as in theater dramas.
Zuzanna Szadkowski is a Polish-American actress known for her role as Dorota Kishlovsky on CW teen drama series Gossip Girl. Szadkowski also appeared on The Knick, Girls, Search Party, The Good Wife, Sopranos, and Guiding Light. She made her New York Stage debut in Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron's Love, Loss, and What I Wore in which she appeared in a record-breaking five all-star casts.
Memphis Eve Sunny Day Iris Hewson is an Irish actress. Her first major role was in the 2011 drama film This Must Be the Place, and she made her television debut as Nurse Lucy Elkins in the 2014 Steven Soderbergh series The Knick. She has appeared in films such as Blood Ties (2013), Bridge of Spies (2015), and Robin Hood (2018). In 2020, she starred in the miniseries The Luminaries. In 2021 she starred as Adele in the Netflix miniseries Behind Her Eyes, then in 2022 she played Becka in the Apple TV+ series Bad Sisters, which won a Peabody Award, and in 2023 she played the lead Flora in the Apple TV+ movie Flora and Son.
Maja Wampuszyc is an American actress of stage and screen living in New York City. She was born and raised in metropolitan Detroit.
Aedín Moloney is an American and Irish TV, Theatre and Film actress and producer. She was born in Dublin, Ireland. She is the founder and producing artistic director of New York's Fallen Angel Theatre Company. She is the daughter of musician Paddy Moloney.
