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Mary Pickford
The World's First Movie Star and the Woman Who Built Hollywood.
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Overview
Long before modern celebrities, there was Mary Pickford.
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Actress. Studio founder. Business visionary. Academy founder.
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Michelle uncovers the remarkable story of the woman whose decisions shaped nearly every aspect of today's entertainment industry, revealing why Mary Pickford remains one of history's most influential and overlooked pioneers.
You know the name Charlie Chaplin... but what if there was someone even more powerful?
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The woman who invented Hollywood... and almost nobody knows her name.
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Before there were movie stars, there was Mary Pickford.
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She wasn't simply America's Sweetheart. She was one of the most powerful women in the world, co-founder of United Artists alongside Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, a driving force behind the Academy Awards, and one of the architects of the modern film industry. She accomplished all of this before women even had the right to vote.
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Through fascinating stories, rare photographs, surprising behind-the-scenes history, and Michelle's years of research while writing her feature screenplay The Girl Behind Hollywood, audiences discover the extraordinary woman whose influence still shapes every movie we watch today.
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If you love Hollywood history, strong women, entrepreneurship, storytelling, or simply discovering remarkable people history somehow forgot, this presentation is for you.
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What audiences will learn
• The birth of Hollywood
• How Mary became the world's first superstar
 Mary's remarkable rise and her personal sacrifices
• The founding of United Artists
• Early filmmaking innovations
• Hollywood before women could vote
• Why her legacy still matters today
Perfect For
Libraries, Film festivals, Historical societies, Universities, Women's organizations, Film enthusiasts, Film schools, Classic movie lovers, Book clubs, Anyone fascinated by the birth of Hollywood
Audience Response
"Speaker deeply knowledgeable and excited about her project. Lovely illustrations (still pictures, quotations, and film clips) and an openness to questions from the audience." -Martha
"Insightful and informative. The presenter was enthusiastic, friendly and very easy to understand! Excellent, excellent!" -Elaine
"I thought I knew a lot about Mary Pickford, but I learned so much more." -Eileen
"I liked the passion and prep by the host. I knew nothing about Mary Pickford before the class and almost didn't sign up. The host has left me super-enthusiastic on the subject" -Sanford
"I loved all of it, but having those clips really enhanced the presentation. Michelle did an extremely super job!" -Brenda
"Really informative, made me care a lot about Mary Pickford and very organized presentation" -Liz
"Michelle Cohen was fabulous. So enthusiastic and bubbly. I loved her 21st century way of explaining Mary Pickford’s thoughts." -Susan
"The speaker was very passionate and knowledgeable about Ms. Pickford's professional and personal life." -Robert
"The enthusiasm of the speaker. She obviously loves her subject. Great photos." -Ana
"I learned about someone who I didn't know much about before, even though i love movies. The presenter's passion for her subject definitely enhanced the presentation." -Susan
"Michelle was so knowledgeable and you just wanted her to keep going!" -Jenifer
"The very knowledgeable lecturer, and her excellent photos!" -Harold
"She is an excellent speaker. Well planned and delivered presentation. So much better than any other speaker I've seen so far." -Jonathan
"Very informative, good use of images, enthusiastic presenter." -Taunja
"Host was knowledgeable and passionate about her subject. I know a lot about silents and learned things!" -Kathy
"Well presented, great research, fun and multimedia. Just LOVED it!" -Jan
"The speaker is very enthusiastic plus I enjoyed the photos, films, history and anecdotes." -Betina
" Interesting speaker, Knowledgeable" -Arla
" Well-paced narration and good photos, most of which I hadn't seen before, and some good film clips also." -Linda
"It was well put together and the presenter was enthusiastic about the topic." -Kathryn
" Michelle was an excellent presenter! She was well prepared and very knowledgeable. I learned so much about Mary Pickford." -Wendy
" I liked the enthusiasm of Michelle" -Deborah
"The information was great, lots of stuff I did not know, and as an added bonus the presenter was very interested herself, and was enjoying sharing the information. You could tell and it added to the experience." -Anthony
"...I liked: 1. The overall history and documentary of Mary Pickford, that includes her life, her work, her films, her friends, peers etc. 2. The documentary was well explained and concise and easy to understand. 3. Nicely illustrated with photos and videos and even a music video. Overall I enjoyed it and have seen it three times now." -Richard
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