Over the past couple decades, Elizabeth Banks has transformed from charming comedic actress — starring in titles like Wet Hot American Summer (2001) and The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2007) — to a veritable triple-threat. Two years ago, Banks made her hugely successful directorial debut with Pitch Perfect 2 (which, along with the first movie, she also acted in and produced). In 2016, she was ranked the sixth highest-grossing actress ever. And last month, it was announced that she's directing the upcoming Charlie's Angels remake. Given her stunning résumé, it's hard to believe that when Banks first arrived in Hollywood, she was dismissed and degraded by an agent in the most revolting way, as the actress revealed this week.
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During her acceptance speech while being honored at the Women in Film Los Angeles’ Crystal + Lucy Awards in Beverly Hills on Tuesday, Banks opened up about the shocking feedback she got from the very first acting agent she encountered in Hollywood. "The first agent I ever met in this industry told me to get a boob job," Banks, 43, said in her speech, People reports. "I was so grateful that I didn’t have enough money at the time to follow his advice. I also did not sign with him despite that."
Thankfully, Banks went with her gut on this one. All these years later, she's not only starring in and directing some of Hollywood's biggest titles; she's setting priceless examples for the next generation of female filmmakers. "In this room, we are creating culture. We are sending messages out to the world. Those messages matter, and presenting strong, independent women who have agency in TV and film is really important — not just in this room, not just in our culture, but in the global culture." She continued, "I hope it encourages other women to step up to the plate of directing, and producing, and writing," in addition to, "anything that they’re thinking about doing, and take more control of the storytelling and of their lives."