Actress, Writer and Director. Ida Lupino is best known as a pioneering figure in the world of female filmmakers. Born into a British theater family in Camberwall, London, England, she was encouraged to enter the world of show business by both her parents and her uncle, actor and theater manager, Lupino Lane. In 1931, Ida made her film debut in the "The Love Race." She would continue playing minor roles until 1939, when she appeared in the drama, "The Light That Failed." Lupino was finally taken seriously as a dramatic actress, and her roles improved. She often referred to herself as "a poor man's Bette Davis" and angered studio heads at Warner Brothers Studio by rejecting roles that Davis herself rejected. In retaliation, she was suspended by the studio numerous times. It was during a suspension in the late 1940s that she began studying the processes behind the camera. Her first directing job came when the director of the 1949 film, "Not Wanted," fell ill. In 1950, she directed the film, "Outrage" which dealt with the then controversial subject of rape. In 1953, she was the first woman to direct a film noir, "The Hitch-Hiker." During the 1950s, Lupino remained one of the only female directors in Hollywood, and was only the second woman to be inducted into the Director's Guild. She was also awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to television and motion pictures. She continued acting, directing and writing films and television shows throughout the 1950s, 60s and 70s, most notably, "The Donna Reed Show," "The Untouchables," "77 Sunset Strip," "Bewitched," "Bonanza," "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," "The Rifleman," "Gilligan's Island" and "The Twilight Zone." Lupino finally retired from show business in 1978, after appearing in various television shows and small film roles. Fiercely private, she married and divorced three times. Her last marriage, to actor Howard Duff, produced one daughter, Bridget, born in 1952. In 1995, while battling colon cancer, she suffered a stroke and passed away. She had over a forty-year career in the business.