The cover of Vanity Fair's March issue celebrating "New Hollywood" has caused a bit of a stir over its lack of diversity. The issue features (from left to right): Abbie Cornish, Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, Mia Wasikowska, Emma Stone, Evan Rachel Wood, and Anna Kendrick. All reasonably attractive, all with promising careers, and all white. Unless Vanity Fair's definition of diversity is throwing a redhead (Emma Stone) into the mix, they need to do better in 2011.
Now I'm not saying that Vanity Fair should have included minority actresses on the cover just for the sake of diversity, but come on... they can do better than this. For one thing, Vanity Fair
already had both Stewart and Seyfried on an August 2008 cover heralding "Hollywood's New Wave." As you can see, this cover is also diversity-free!
Even though movie roles for minority actresses continue to be scarce, women of color are managing to make an impact in Hollywood. Here are just a few who were worthy of being featured on the Vanity Fair cover:
Gabourey "
Gabby"
Sidibe: Up for an Academy Award for Best Actress In A Leading Role for playing the title character in
Precious, Sidibe will next be seen in the 2010 film
Yelling To the Sky. As a side note, Sidibe does have an interview with Vanity Fair that's included in the issue. For her take on not being a part of the cover, click
here.
Freida Pinto: One of the stars of the Best Picture Oscar winner
Slumdog Millionaire, Pinto will be back on movie screens this year in the Woody Allen film
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and is also starring in
Dawn of the Gods (which is scheduled to be released in 2011).
Charlyne Yi: In addition to co-starring in the 2009 rom-com Paper Heart, the multi-talented Yi also co-wrote it, co-produced it, and helped write the soundtrack!
Zoe Saldana: She only co-starred in two of the biggest blockbusters of the past year...
Star Trek and this little movie called
Avatar. Slacker! Admittedly, Saldana isn't exactly new (she made her film debut in 2000). However, featuring her on the Vanity Fair issue would have been justified when you consider that Evan Rachel Wood (who's been around since the late 1990s) got a spot on the cover.
Update: Zoe was featured on the 2008 "Fresh Faces" cover of VF:
http://guestofaguest.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/cusl14_hollywood_covers0803.jpg
Let me also add that I knew Vanity Fair had done previous "Hollywood" issues that featured a diverse mix of actors/actresses on the cover. This is why I was surprised when I saw the cover of the March 2010 issue. In the spirit of giving credit where credit is due, here is a partial list of minority actors/actresses who have been featured on the cover of Vanity Fair's "Hollywood" issues in the past:
Angela Bassett
Benicio Del Toro
Will Smith
Jada Pinkett
Jennifer Lopez
Djimon Hounsou
Thandie Newton
Penélope Cruz
Samuel L. Jackson
Don Cheadle
Dev Patel
America Ferrera
