She nearly died at 8 and later became one of Hollywood’s strongest voices

At just 8 years old, she almost died during a terrifying car ride. That near-death moment shaped the life of a girl who would grow up to become one of Hollywood’s most admired actresses — and a fierce advocate for women.

She was born in the small town of Wareham, Massachusetts, in 1958. Her early life was simple and old-fashioned. Her family heated their home with chopped wood, and her mother grew most of their food. She and her brother were raised with strict manners and very limited access to popular culture. “We were very underexposed to everything,” she once said.

Even so, something inside her lit up when she imagined performing. “I was three years old, and how I even knew it was a job, I have no idea,” she recalled. From that early age, Geena Davis knew she wanted to act.

When Geena was 8, she had a terrifying experience that left a lasting impact. She went for a drive with her 99-year-old great-uncle Jack, who began swerving into oncoming traffic. No one in the car spoke up, not even her parents. Just as a collision seemed certain, her uncle veered out of the way.

It was a close call — and a powerful lesson. “Always be polite, no matter what” became a silent rule in her life, one that shaped how she reacted to problems for years. This moment would later become a key story in her 2022 memoir Dying of Politeness.

In her book, Geena opened up about another childhood trauma. While delivering newspapers, she was molested by a neighbor. At the time, she didn’t understand what was happening. Only later, after seeing her mother’s shocked reaction, did she realize how serious it was.

No police report was filed. Her mother simply told the man to never touch her again and warned Geena not to visit his apartment. “She didn’t explain what had happened or why it was bad, so it just felt like this horrible secret that I was carrying around,” Geena said.

From then on, she learned to stay quiet — even when she wanted to speak out.

Geena’s height made her stand out in school, and not in a way she liked. Classmates teased her, calling her “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.” She was shy and self-conscious, and being different made growing up difficult. “I was tall from minute one,” she told The View. “The last thing I wanted to do was stand out.”

She joined the track team, played flute in the school band, and even studied abroad in Sweden, becoming fluent in the language. Later, she enrolled at New England College before transferring to Boston University to study drama. Her parents didn’t question her choice, even though they didn’t fully understand what acting involved. For years, they believed she graduated — though in truth, she didn’t.

After college, Geena moved to New York City. She worked as a waitress and window mannequin, eventually landing small modeling jobs. One of those jobs — posing for a Victoria’s Secret catalog — caught the attention of a film director who cast her in a major comedy in 1982. That role launched her career.

She acted alongside well-known stars and gained more attention with every performance. By the mid-80s, she was starring in movies and on TV, quickly rising through Hollywood’s ranks.

One of her biggest breakthroughs came with a film that paired her with another strong female lead. The two played women on the run, fighting back against a world that tried to silence them. The movie became a classic, and Geena’s friendship with her co-star gave her new confidence. “She very simply and clearly said what she thought,” Geena said, describing her admiration for her fearless co-star.

After that film, she starred in a sports comedy about women’s baseball, once again proving that female-led stories could be both powerful and popular. She also won an Oscar for her performance in a heartfelt drama, earning praise for her emotional depth.

Like many actresses, Geena saw fewer roles come her way after turning 40. “I fell off the cliff,” she told The Guardian. But even as the offers slowed, she was entering a new chapter of her life — becoming a mom for the first time at 46.

She later had twin sons at 48, raising three kids while keeping them away from the spotlight. She never pushed them into acting and made it clear she wanted her daughter to avoid the toxic pressures she had seen in Hollywood. Her daughter eventually pursued a degree in music and cinematic arts at the University of Southern California.

Changing Hollywood from the inside

Geena noticed something while watching her children’s TV shows: girls were barely shown at all. So in 2004, she founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to study and fix the imbalance. Her research showed that 96 percent of films were directed by men, and women were often portrayed in limited or stereotypical ways.

Through her organization, she began pushing studios to create fairer and more realistic portrayals of women and girls. She became a leading voice in the movement for gender equality in entertainment.

Today, Geena is still acting. She’s set to appear in a new Netflix mystery series created by the team behind Stranger Things. The show takes place in a peaceful-looking retirement community, where residents must work together to stop a supernatural threat.

It’s a fitting role for someone who’s never been afraid to take on a challenge — and who continues to prove that age is just a number.

From a shy, polite girl in a small town to an Oscar-winning actress and fearless advocate, she has used her experiences to help others speak up — even when it’s hard.

She once believed she wasn’t allowed to complain. Now she’s teaching the world why speaking out matters.