Ex-hollywood producer Marie’s a true inspiration
LIFETIME AWARD FOR 77-YEAR-OLD PIONEER WHO IS HELPING NEXT GENERATION OF WOMEN
AN inspirational woman from Coventry was among the winners at a national awards ceremony celebrating female achievers.
The Ladies First Network virtual event, in aid of The Katie Piper Foundation, recognised entrepreneurs from across the country, many with tales of overcoming adversity and even tragedy, to achieve success.
Hosted by BBC radio presenter Sandra Godley from a studio in Coventry, the ceremony also featured a message from Katie Piper and burns survivor Catrin Pugh. Katie founded her charity in 2008 while in the early stages of her recovery from an acid attack which left her with permanent scars on her face and body and blindness in one eye.
The winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Marie Rowe.
It’s been quite a journey for Coventry-born Marie, who, after leaving school at 15, trained as a junior secretary while studying drama and has since gone on to enjoy huge success as a Hollywood film producer, working with movie greats including Tom Cruise, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Deniro, Al Pacino and Robin Williams.
From her first job as an executive assistant at The Samuel Goldwyn Company in film acquisitions and marketing, she also went on to produce award-winning socially-conscious short films for the Alliance of Women Directors and Women in Film in Los Angeles and was integral in helping women become more prominent in film production.
She also established Radio Women, focusing on women’s issues, and produced a radio show, Incest – the Great Taboo, for CBC, which was based on my volunteer work with girls who had been sexually abused.
Marie, now 77, has become a respected speaker, giving many inspirational talks to women’s social groups about the lessons she learned from her time in Hollywood. More recently, she’s been auditioning actors, via Zoom, for a series of short films on student mental health for Coventry University, as well as working on the scripts.
Marie said: “Growing up in an era where girls were expected to follow the path of marriage and family, and were not encouraged to have a career, it seemed that my future was set.
“At the suggestion of my English Literature teacher, I began drama classes and was actually offered a scholarship to The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London.
“However, because I was only 16 and moving to the big city was considered too dangerous, my mother wouldn’t let me go. ‘What’s the point?’ she said. ‘It’ll be a waste of time, because soon you’ll be getting married, having babies and scrubbing floors.’
“Unfortunately, my mother only saw her picture of life, not mine, and I was expected to fit into that outdated mould.”
But, for all that, Marie believes her greatest accomplishment was when she worked as a drug abuse secretary at an American Army Hospital in Stuttgart, working with drug addicts who were fresh out of Vietnam and suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“This is where I found my voice and a side of my character I didn’t know existed.
“As part of the drug therapy group, I stood up for these young men when they were being abused and disrespected by the so-called therapists,” she said.
The finalists of the third LFN Business Awards were chosen from more than 200 nominations, and decided by an esteemed panel of 12 judges from across the UK.
The awards also coincided with the launch of a new book Inspirational Women, Inspirational Lives, compiled by Balsall Common’s Tracey Mcatamney.
The book features the 58 finalists’ stories and is available from Amazon (also on Kindle) or through Tracey at: tracey@ladiesfirstnetwork.co.uk with all the proceeds benefiting The Katie Piper Foundation.