Tex Brook · CC BY 2.0

Adrienne Shelly built her acting career in Hal Hartley's independent films The Unbelievable Truth and Trust before writing, directing, and co-starring in Waitress, a comedy that reached theaters after her death and was later adapted into a Broadway musical. She was murdered in her Manhattan office in 2006 by a construction worker who initially staged the killing as a suicide; her husband's advocacy for a fuller investigation led to the killer's arrest and conviction. The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, established in her memory, has since funded grants for women filmmakers, including Cynthia Wade's Academy Award-winning documentary Freeheld.