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North America, Part 3 Before the late 17th century, indigenous Indians were the primary population, but they formed no national theater groups. By the 18th century, former Europeans had become the majority in North America, but unlike Europe, North America could not...

 North America, Part 2 Several years later, Lillian (the future Native American movie star) met the charismatic James Young Johnson, who thought he wasn’t Native American but masqueraded as a Winnebago, Lillian’s heritage. Though James was officially classified as a...

North America, Part 1 In 1492, the indigenous population of what are now the U.S. and Canada was 3.8 million, after which incursions were made by the French, Spanish, and English. By 1900, the resulting warfare, maltreatment, and imported pestilence decimated an...

  Africa, Part 2 A French businessman asked Shafiqa, the exotic Egyptian, to perform in Paris. He also asked her to marry him. She accepted the performance invitation but declined the proposal. Because France was then hosting an international exhibition,...

  Africa, Part 1 Africa comprises the world’s most recently European-occupied countries, a detriment to the careers of indigenous peoples. Other than on the nearly 4,600-year-old Egyptian scrolls and subsequent modern records, there is no written African history...

Early Female Entertainers Part 4 Latin America In the mid-14th century, entertainment was a respected profession; South America’s female entertainers had equal social status with male dancers, and some music was reserved for women. Andean girls ages nine to fifteen...

Female Entertainers Japan In the 7th century, some of the girls whose families who had been displaced by war earned money for sexual services, but with enough education or dancing skills they could entertain and maintain their virginity. By the late 8th century, when...

Female Entertainers Part 2 China Beginning in the 4th century, only men could perform in China’s operatic presentations—even to portray women. During the 7th through 10th centuries, women could sing, dance, do acrobatics, and tell stories in street performances. By...

  Part 1 The Virgin Mary remains the most revered woman on earth—not for what she accomplished but for the son she bore. Millennia ago, women didn’t have acceptable professions. We often hear that prostitution is the oldest profession. In fact, it was actually...

  Because I’ve lived most of my life in California—one of the world’s most favorable places for women—and have thrived in a male-dominated industry for nearly half a century, I’ve witnessed the evolution of growing female power (illustrated in my memoir The Lady...