Hollywood Divas, Indie Queens, and TV Heroines offers an entertaining and critical look at the representation of women in recent movies. Written in a refreshingly accessible style, the book analyzes over thirty box-office hits. The authors explore the screen personae of top stars such as Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Meg Ryan, and Renée Zellweger, as well as independent movie queens like Parker Posey and TV heroines like Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A must-read book for all film buffs who are tired of the mixed gender messages of mainstream culture.

Susanne Kord is professor at University College London. Elisabeth Krimmer is assistant professor at the University of California, Davis.

Part 1 Part I Hollywood Chapter 2 1 Introduction Chapter 3 2 The New-Born Identity: Julia Roberts Chapter 4 3 Running Woman: Sandra Bullock Chapter 5 4 Sleeping with the Enemy: Meg Ryan Chapter 6 5 The Real World is Not Enough: Renée Zellweger Part 7 Part II Some Alternatives Chapter 8 6 Highlights and Low Points: Affairs of State and Kung-Fu Bunnies Chapter 9 7 Hidden Alternatives: Judi Dench, Kathy Bates, Parker Posey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Frances McDormand Chapter 10 8 Vamp(ire)s and Those Who Kill Them: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dana Scully Chapter 11 9 Is This As Good As It Gets? Chapter 12 Notes Chapter 13 Works Cited