31 Days of Notable Women- Sarah Culberson, woman world leader, actress

Sarah Culberson, Co-Founder and president of the Kposowa Foundation, was honored at the 50/50 Leadership & UNA’s 4^th Annual Women of the World Awards and World Leadership Day. Culberson was born in Morgantown, West Virginia to an African father and a white mother. As an infant, she was given up to foster care, adopted by a loving white family, and grew up contemplating her identity and her biracial roots. In early childhood, Culberson fell in love with theatre and later won an acting scholarship to attend West Virginia University. She earned her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and joined the Los Angeles acting community.

Source: http://www3.saintmarys.edu/news-events/news-coverage/sarah-culberson-is-multiethnic-commencement-celebration-speaker-2012

31 Days of Notable Women- Ellen Snortland, Director, Actress, Advocate

As a writer, producer, director, humorist, actor, dormant lawyer, women’s and children’s self-defense advocate, and feminist-homemaker, Ellen Snortland has the unique ability to speak and write with authority on subjects ranging from knitting and cooking, to S.W.A.T. team methods of close-quarter hand-to-hand combat to the opportunities and obstacles of the professional American woman.

Source: http://www.snortland.com/EllensBio.html

31 Days of Notable Women- Eva Le Gallienne, actress turned director

Eva Le Gallienne was a 20th century English actress, producer, and director, known for her support of repertory theater and her classical roles and productions.

Source: http://womenshistory.about.com/od/filmdirectors/Women_Film_Directors_and_Producers.htm

31 Days of Notable Women- Leni Riefenstahl, dancer, actress, director

Leni Riefenstahl’s (1902-2003) show-biz experience began with an experiment: she wanted to know what it felt like to dance on the stage. Success as a dancer gave way to film acting when she attracted the attention of film director Arnold Fanck, subsequently starring in some of his mountaineering pictures. With Fanck as her mentor, Riefenstahl began directing films. Her penchant for artistic work earned her acclaim and awards for her films across Europe.

Source cited: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0726166/bio

31 Days of Notable Women- Beyonce, music/ business mogul

Beyoncé Knowles, the 29 year old singer, actress, dancer, and clothes designer made it to Forbes World’s Most Powerful Women list for 2010 with earnings of over $35 million dollars. The Houston-born diva ranks unusually low on our list this year because she didn’t tour or release an album over the past year. But her fourth solo effort “4” is on the way. The simple title was reportedly selected by her fans and is also a nod to her April 4th wedding anniversary with hubby Jay-Z. In the absence of new revenue on the music side, business-focused Beyoncé cashes in on her clothing line “Dereon” and massive endorsement deals with L’Oreal, DirecTV, and General Mills.

Source cited:
http://www.forbes.com/profile/beyonce-knowles

Notable, Quotable Woman- Judy Garland

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”- Judy Garland, American singer, actress

31 Days of Notable Women- Inventor Hedy Lamarr

Silver Screen superstar Hedy Lamarr (Hedwig Kiesler Markey) with the help of composer George Antheil invented a secret communication system in an effort to help the allies defeat the Germans in World War II. The invention, patented in 1941, manipulated radio frequencies between transmission and reception to develop an unbreakable code so that top-secret messages could not be intercepted.

Source cited: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blkidprimer6_12w.htm

31 Days of Notable Women- Lillian Russell, lovely inventor

In 1912, the beautiful soprano opera singer and actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Lillian Russell, patented a combination dresser-trunk built solidly enough to remain intact during travel and doubled as a portable dressing room.

Source: http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blkidprimer6_12w.htm

31 Days of Notable Women- Ida Lupino- director/producer

Ida Lupino’s search for greater creative control after acting in movies from the 1940-50s, led her to founding a production company with her husband. Serving as producer and director for films she was known to produce movies with controversial content.

Source Cited: http://www.imagesjournal.com/issue05/reviews/idalupino.htm