The women who are transforming Hollywood: New shoot celebrates Melissa McCarthy, Reese Witherspoon and Penelope Cruz as industry game-changers

Melissa McCarthy, Reese Witherspoon, Penelope Cruz and Shailene Woodley have each landed one of four covers for ELLE's November issue, a celebration of women in Hollywood.
The magazine chose the dynamic foursome as the women who have made the most extraordinary contributions to the movie industry over the past year.
Ms McCarthy, 43, who rarely graces fashion glossies, is perhaps the most significant. In playing nontraditional female lead roles, she has, in turn, become a nontraditional cover girl. And hers, which shows her wearing a Marina Rinaldi coat with her hair tousled into high-volume waves, more than holds its own alongside that of bombshell powerhouse Ms Witherspoon, Spanish beauty Ms Cruz and young ingenue Shailene.

Hollywood trailblazer: Bridesmaids' breakout star Melissa McCarthy poses in a Marina Rinaldi coat for ELLE's November issue, which celebrates female game-changers in the movie industry

Setting an example: Reese Witherspoon, pictured in a Versace dress, says her children inspired her to begin producing movies because there were no inspiring female leads

The mother-of-two tells the magazine that the secret to a successful female comedic lead is in being flawed. The problem with so many Hollywood comedies, she explains, is that the heroines are too perfect.
'A lot of times, women have had all their tools taken away,' she says. 'It's like you're never inappropriate, you have the greatest job, you look great, your hair is amazing, and now go be funny.

'I just thought: God, if I don't start buckling down and start producing, what's my daughter going to see in the movies?'

Reese Witherspoon

'And it's like, with what? You have to fall down for us to want to watch you get back up. And it's like they never let you watch women fall down.'
In turn, Ms Witherspoon, 37, is shaking up the industry in a relatively new guise of movie producer. She reveals it is her children who inspired her to move from acting into a production role
'I started noticing a couple years ago that I wasn’t seeing women as the stars of movies,' she said. 'I'm seeing them as the guys’ girlfriends, or so-and-so’s wife. I just thought: God, if I don’t start buckling down and start producing some movies, what’s my daughter going to see in the movies?'
In fact, the actress credits her children with making her a better person.

Actor first: Penelope Cruz, seen wearing Calvin Klein Collection, rejects the title of 'star' as 'surreal'

Seeking new experiences: Shailene Woodley, who wears Calvin Klein in her shoot, acknowledges that she is still young and has a lot to learn about the world

'I feel like I was so confused before I had kids, I almost got in my own way,' she told the magazine. 'Having kids made me clearer about who I was as a woman. I just wanted to exhibit good qualities for my daughter. I was a little competitive before I had kids - probably really competitive, to be honest. It really made me let go of that.'

'Maybe I'll work in a tea shop. Or live in Amsterdam. Or be a nanny. Life experience only helps us as actors'

Shailene Woodley

Shailene Woodley, who at 21 is little more than a kid herself, exhibits wisdom well beyond her years in her interview. She speaks of aspirations like living in Amsterdam or working in a tea shop or as a nanny.
'I’m so young, and I’m single, and I just want to drift. I’m just going to be a drifter,' she says. 'I want to do something totally different before Insurgent [the second film in the Divergent trilogy]. . . Life experience only helps us as actors. I need new experiences to draw upon.'

She also tells how she breaks down boundaries in meetings by hugging associates instead of shaking hands.

Women in Hollywood: Penelope Cruz (left) and Shailene Woodley (right) grace two covers for ELLE's new issue

Celebrated: Ms Witherspoon (left) and Ms McCarthy (right) complete the four November cover girls

'For me, a hug is to disregard all of that b******t and be like, This is me, Shai. This is who I am. Now let’s talk about real situations. Let’s not talk about all this surface-level stuff,' she says.
Penelope Cruz says that her most important piece of career advice was to learn to say 'no'.

'The concept of a star will always sound foreign and surreal to me because growing up in Spain, you're an actor, not a star'

Penelope Cruz

She told ELLE: 'You’re going to have to put a lot of your time into a project, and you have to know if it’s something you really feel connected with, because it’s not a job you can do like you press a button - no.'
But aside from being a mother-of-two, Ms Cruz is first and foremost an actor - she certainly does not consider herself a star.
'The concept of a "star" will always sound foreign and surreal to me because growing up in my country, you’re an actor, not a star,' she said.

The ELLE November issue will be on newsstands across the U.S. from October 22nd. For more on ELLE's Women in Hollywood, visit Elle.com