Lee Grant with Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night.
I have been a huge fan of Academy Award winner Lee Grant for years. I’ve always enjoyed seeing her perform as an actress—her choices always seemed intelligent, interesting and different. Grant’s off-camera story of being Hollywood blacklisted for 12 years and her struggle to return to the industry is powerful and inspirational. After being stopped in her tracks at the peak of her young career, she not only picked up where she left off, but also reinvented herself as a writer, producer and director.
At 87 years “young” and vibrant, Grant continues to be an inspiration to me. When I learned that her new memoir, I Said Yes to Everything, was being published, I felt her story would be perfect to share with New York Women in Film & Television members so they could be inspired by her as well.
I hope you will join me at a panel that I’m producing, A Conversation with Lee Grant, on Monday, October 27, 6:30 pm at the Tribeca Film Center. Film historian and critic Jeffrey Lyons will lead the discussion, to be followed by a book signing of Grant’s memoir. The event is free for NYWIFT members and its affiliates; $20 for the general public (tickets and more information).
Grant first gained acclaim as a star of stage and screen, then went on to enjoy a distinguished three-decade career as a director of film, television and documentaries. In 1989, Women in Film honored Grant with its first ever Lifetime Achievement Award. She received NYWIFT’s Muse Award in 2004. Grant is a Hollywood icon whose intelligence, grit and passion have made her one of the most respected and beloved figures in the entertainment business.
— TERRY GREENBERG
nywift
Related Posts
Meet the New NYWIFT Member: Eve Rouverol
Welcome to NYWIFT, Eve Rouverol! Eve came to filmmaking after a career as a newspaper reporter, commercial writer, and teacher of students with disabilities. After her children left for college (she is a single, widowed mother), she was able to return to college to pursue her first love, film. In addition to writing/directing student narrative and documentary shorts at CA College of the Arts and Emerson, Eve wrote, produced and directed the 35-minute film The Muse starring her actor daughter Madeline Rouverol. The film was nominated for Best Student Director at New Bedford Film Festival in 2023. Her screenplays Writer's Block and Lolita Redux have been shortlisted by BlueCat and Scriptapalooza. Writer's Block was selected for participation in the 2026 Stowe Narrative Labs. Lolita Redux was a semifinalist for Stowe Labs’ Writers’ Retreat Fellowship.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Maria Eleni Zollo
Welcome to NYWIFT, Maria Eleni Zollo! Maria is a writer, actor, director, and musician based in Astoria, Queens. As a singer, she has performed at the Norwegian National Opera House in Oslo, Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and on Saturday Night Live. She works as an adjunct professor at CUNY Baruch, and as a Greek Orthodox Church chanter at St George in Hell's Kitchen and St Nicholas National Shrine at the World Trade Center. Maria Eleni also performs as a stand-up comedian in NYC. Her first short film was a semifinalist in Stage 32's 8th Annual Short Film Festival.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Ayo Oti
Welcome to NYWIFT, Ayo Oti! Ayo Oti is a media creative, social impact professional, and emerging filmmaker. She publishes Sounds Like Impact, a curated resource for social impact podcasting, and hosts Audio For Action Live. Previously, she produced for How to Save a Planet and Degrees: Real Talk About Planet-Saving Careers. Ayo is currently developing two documentary films: one exploring first-generation Nigerian identity and another examining African American creatives inspired by Mexico and its artistic practices. Beyond her own work, she collaborates on social issue documentaries as a producer, supporting projects across production, strategy, and impact distribution to help stories reach and engage audiences.
READ MOREMeet the New NYWIFT Member: Allie Delury
Welcome to NYWIFT, Allie Delury! Allie Delury is an award-winning producer and director known for Fault (Tribeca 2026), The Last Goodbye (AFF 2025), Tender Thoughts (Tribeca 2024), and Ivy Grace (CNN NBC Nightly). She was featured on the cover of MovieMaker Magazine for producing All Is Well in 48 hours and has also been to over 100 countries, done vanlife in Australia, sailed around the world, and worked as a combat camera officer in the Air Force. She now owns Work Our Way Productions, a 100% veteran owned-and-operated production company in Brooklyn.
READ MORE
