New Book Features Boston’s Inspirational Women

As the acclaim surrounding Hollywood East continues to grow, and it’s reputation for bringing quality projects to the entertainment world carries on, it’s important to recognize all the pieces of the puzzle that have contributed to this phenomenon. One such being, the immense amount of home-grown talent that has arisen, particularly from the Boston area. A new photography book is helping pay homage to the Beantown women in particular who have helped make our city great, many of which happen to be in the entertainment industry.

The book is titled Boston, Inspirational Women, and is the work of father-and-daughter photographers Bill Brett and Kerry Brett. Together, they compiled more than 125 black-and-white portraits of women with Boston ties for their project, which was recently released by it’s publisher.

While the book is not solely about women in the entertainment, many of those featured are actresses or TV stars. Among those highlighted:

Maura Tierney, best known for her work on “ER”, was born and raised in Hyde Park. She’s the daughter of the late Joseph Tierney, who served on Boston’s City Council for 15 years.

Rachel Dratch is a Lexington native who graduated from Dartmouth College before going on to star on “Saturday Night Live.”

Many are unaware that movie star and glamazon Uma Thurman was born in Boston and grew up mostly in Amherst, Massachusetts.

The Food Network’s Rachael Ray spent time as a child in Mashpee and Falmouth on Cape Cod, where her family owned a restaurant called The Carvery.

Watertown’s Eliza Dushku starred alongside Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s daughter in True Lies as a teenager.

Medford’s Maria Menounos is an alumna of the city’s public high school and Emerson College. She’s gone on to become the youngest cohost of Entertainment Tonight and the Today Show, and the youngest person to report for NBC’s Nightly News.

A launch party was held for the book at the new Smith and Wollensky on Congress Street in Boston on November 15. Over 500 people were in attendance, including a number of women from the book, such as chef Lydia Shire and socialite Marilyn Riseman.

All photos taken from the Boston, Inspirational Women slide show on Boston.com