Happy Birthday Geena Davis

When Davis was younger, her height made her feel awkward; she didnt find physical comfort in sports until 1997. I'd been so un-athletic, and was sure that I was uncoordinated until I got cast in A League of Their Own and had to learn [how to play] baseball. The coaches were like, "You're picking this up fairly fast." I was like, "I have untapped athletic ability!" she told Pop Entertainment.

Davis worked as a model before kicking off her screen career. She actually became an Ann Taylor window mannequin, then, when she was 23, found her way to the Victorias Secret catalogue. That move got her discovered and cast in Tootsie.

Davis turned down the role Demi Moore made famous in Ghost, Jodie Fosters part in Silence of the Lambs, and Sandra Bullocks role in Speed. Whoops?

After three divorces (she was married to Richard Emmolo, actor Jeff Goldblum, and Renny Harlin), Davis met the then-27-year-old Dr. Reza Jarrahy, when her dog bit him. Maybe hes just that tasty. She said to Good Housekeeping, "I remember thinking, This guy is cute -- and ridiculously young. At first, to be honest, I was just approaching it like something that would be fun.

Davis had her first child at 46. Two years later, she had twins. "I felt 100 percent that I would be such a better parent than I would have been even five years earlier and certainly ten or 20 years earlier," Davis said in a Good Housekeeping interview.

Davis almost made it to the Olympics in archery, which she took up when preparing for her role in The Long Kiss Goodnight. I didn't realize archery would become such a big part of my life, but I got completely hooked. She added, Becoming confident in my physical abilities, acknowledging that I had a right to take up space and be happy with my performance, was the final piece of the puzzle. I started to believe that people weren't judging me every second of my life. I began to really like myself."

[O]nce I turned 40, I really did feel like I'd ceased to exist in Hollywood, she said, adding, It was noticeable and unmistakable. And painful. Despite this, Davis did score her own short-lived sitcom in 2000, when she was 43, followed by her turn in Commander In Chief. And she recently filmed another movie, 2010s Accidents Happen.

Davis launched the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in 2007, after she noticed how disproportionately many male characters appeared in films her young daughter was watching. The institutes tagline is Improving Gender Portrayals in Childrens Media. One of their first tasks was a study cataloguing womens speaking parts in family films--a paltry 29% of the total.

A hard-hitting one: Accidents Happen, which was released in 2010, is about a mother whose car accident kills one of her children, and, though set in Connecticut, they filmed in Australia. I really love parts that have a big arc, a big change that takes place, she said of the film. So if youre eventually going to be a strong character.... The role of Thelmas an example, she added.

I feel like my life has gotten better with every year that goes by, and so I really don't fear getting older. And this is going to sound crazy, but I like the way I look now more than I did ten years ago. I feel like I've settled into my looks more and that I'm more at ease, and it shows, she said. Happy Birthday, Geena!