Some of the most influential genres in film and television didn’t begin in Hollywood writers’ rooms. They started with women sitting at desks, often writing stories that were ahead of their time. 

During Women’s History Month, it’s worth remembering that many of the genres audiences still binge today were shaped by female authors. Over the decades, filmmakers have returned to those books again and again, adapting them into movies and television series that shaped popular culture.

Here are some of the women who helped define the storytelling genres audiences still binge today.

Jane Austen (1775–1817)

The modern rom-com can be traced back to Jane Austen. She didn’t invent romance, but she perfected the formula many romantic films still follow: sharp dialogue, social tension and a slow-burn love story. 

Her novels have produced dozens of adaptations, including “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, “Emma” (1996) starring Gwyneth Paltrow, “Pride and Prejudice” (2005) starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, “Emma” (2020) starring Anya Taylor-Joy and “Persuasion” (2022) starring Dakota Johnson. 

Hollywood continues to revisit Austen’s work, with new adaptations on the way, including “Sense and Sensibility” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Esmé Creed-Miles and a new “Pride and Prejudice” featuring Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden. 

Her influence even extends to modern reinterpretations like the 1995 teen comedy “Clueless,” which reimagines “Emma,” and “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” which was inspired by “Pride and Prejudice.”

Austen’s influence continues to resonate with audiences and her life has inspired several books, films and television series, including the 2007 film “Becoming Jane” and the 2025 four-part series “Miss Austen,” adapted from Gill Hornby’s novel.

While Austen shaped the romantic storytelling formula Hollywood still relies on, another woman helped launch an entirely different genre—science fiction.

Mary Shelley (1797–1851)

“Frankenstein” is widely considered one of the earliest works of science fiction. Mary Shelley wrote the novel in 1818 when she was a teenager, imagining a scientist who creates life and must face the consequences of his ambition. 

The story became one of the most adapted in film history, including the 1931 film “Frankenstein” starring Boris Karloff and countless reimaginings that followed. 

More than two centuries later, Shelley’s story is still inspiring new interpretations. Guillermo del Toro’s 2025 adaptation of “Frankenstein,” starring Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi, brought the sci-fi tale to a new generation, while Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 2026 film “The Bride!” reimagines the story of the monster’s companion with Jessie Buckley in the title role.

While Shelley was imagining monsters and scientific ambition, another 19th-century novelist was shaping a darker kind of romance—one built on secrets and emotional turmoil.

Charlotte Bronte (1816–1855)

Charlotte Brontë’s 1847 novel “Jane Eyre” helped define the gothic romance and the coming-of-age story centered on a young woman’s inner life. The novel follows an orphaned girl navigating independence, love and identity while uncovering the dark secrets of Thornfield Hall. 

The story has been adapted many times for the screen, including the 1943 film starring Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles and the 2011 adaptation with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender. 

Hollywood continues to revisit the story: It was announced in February that Aimee Lou Wood will star in a new television adaptation of “Jane Eyre” from Working Title.

Agatha Christie (1890–1976)

Agatha Christie is known as the “Queen of Crime” and the “Mother of Cozy Mysteries.” Her detective novels introduced characters like Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple and she is the best-selling fiction writer of all time.  

Hollywood has been adapting her work for decades, from “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) to Kenneth Branagh’s recent films “Murder on the Orient Express” (2017), “Death on the Nile” (2022) and “A Haunting in Venice” (2023).

The most recent Christie adaptation is Netflix’s “Seven Dials,” starring Mia McKenna-Bruce and Helena Bonham Carter. The three-episode series premiered on Jan. 15.

As the murder mystery evolved on page and screen, other writers began pushing suspense into more psychological territory.

Daphne du Maurier (1907–1989)

Daphne du Maurier helped shape the modern psychological suspense thriller, particularly stories rooted in domestic life. Her 1938 novel “Rebecca” became Alfred Hitchcock’s Oscar-winning 1940 film. 

Other works, including “Jamaica Inn” and the short story “The Birds,” also inspired Hitchcock adaptations. 

More recently, “Rebecca” was adapted again in a 2020 Netflix film starring Lily James, Armie Hammer and Kristin Scott Thomas.  

Shirley Jackson (1916–1965)  

Long before prestige horror television existed, Jackson was exploring psychological terror in novels such as “The Haunting of Hill House” (1959). Her work has inspired several adaptations, including the 1963 film “The Haunting” and the hit Netflix series “The Haunting of Hill House” (2018).

Her novel “We Have Always Lived in the Castle” was also adapted into a 2018 film and in 2020, Elisabeth Moss starred as Jackson in the biopic “Shirley”—based on the 2014 novel by Susan Scarf Merrell.

Stephen King has said that he is heavily influenced by Jackson and called “The Haunting of Hill House “as nearly perfect a haunted-house tale as I have ever read.” 

Patricia Highsmith (1921–1995)

Highsmith helped redefine the psychological thriller by focusing on morally ambiguous characters rather than traditional heroes. 

Her novels “Strangers on a Train” (1950) and “The Talented Mr. Ripley” (1955) became influential screen adaptations, including Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on a Train” (1951) and the 1999 film “The Talented Mr. Ripley” starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Known as the “Queen of Suspense,” the most recent adaptations of her books include 2022’s “Deep Water,” starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas and 2024’s “Ripley” starring Andrew Scott and Dakota Fanning. 

Anne Rice (1941–2021)

Rice transformed vampires from movie monsters into brooding antiheroes. Her 1976 novel “Interview with the Vampire” became the 1994 film starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst. 

The story was revived again in AMC’s 2022 television series “Interview with the Vampire,” starring Jacob Anderson and Sam Reid. Season 3 of the series has been retitled “The Vampire Lestat” based on the 1985 book of the same name and will premiere on June 7.  

Her work helped redefine modern vampire fiction and influenced later hits like “True Blood” and “Twilight.”

These writers didn’t just create memorable stories. They helped build the genres filmmakers are still returning to decades—and sometimes centuries—later.

About the writer

S. Lynn Bonanno has an enduring love of Jane Austen and will happily watch every new adaptation Hollywood produces—good, bad or unnecessary. She is especially fascinated by the historic women writers whose stories continue to shape film and television.