MARY PICKFORD
With legions of fans, Mary Pickford became the first woman ever to make a salary of $1 million in a year and gained the freedom to take artistic risks with her roles. (She would famously tell Adolph Zukor in 1915, “No, I really cannot afford to work for only $10,000 a week.”) In 1919 she launched United Artists, a film distributing company, with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. No woman since has been as powerful a player in the movie industry. Here she is seen with Buddy Rogers in My Best Girl. Everett Collection
With legions of fans, Mary Pickford became the first woman ever to make a salary of $1 million in a year and gained the freedom to take artistic risks with her roles. (She would famously tell Adolph Zukor in 1915, “No, I really cannot afford to work for only $10,000 a week.”) In 1919 she launched United Artists, a film distributing company, with Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin, and D. W. Griffith. No woman since has been as powerful a player in the movie industry. Here she is seen with Buddy Rogers in My Best Girl. Everett Collection