Hill was born in Morris, Oklahoma, the youngest of the thirteen children of Albert and Irma Hill, who were farmers. Her family hailed from Arkansas, where her great-grandparents and her maternal grandfather, Henry Eliot, were born into slavery. Hill was raised in the Baptist faith.
After graduating as valedictorian from Morris High School, Hill enrolled at Oklahoma State University, receiving a bachelor's degree with honors, in psychology 1977. She went on to Yale Law School, obtaining her Juris Doctor degree with honors in 1980.
She was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1980 and began her law career as an associate with the Washington, D.C. firm of Wald, Harkrader & Ross. In 1981, she became an attorney-adviser to Clarence Thomas who was then the Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. When Thomas became Chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in 1982, Hill went along to serve as his assistant, leaving the job in 1983.
Hill then became an assistant professor at the Evangelical Christian O. W. Coburn School of Law at Oral Roberts University where she taught from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, she joined the faculty at the University of Oklahoma College of Law where she taught commercial law and contracts
I Was Anita Hill
by Duchess Harris
The political event that had an impact on my young adult life more than any other was the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings.
In October of 1991 I was 22-years-old and in my first month of graduate school. It was the first time I'd left the Eastern seaboard where I'd always used public transportation. Without understanding the Midwestern landscape I moved to Minnesota with no car. I had broken up with my East Coast boyfriend and I was the only Black student in my department. I couldn't afford long-distance calls and Al Gore hadn't invented the internet, so I was often glued to the television.
I watched the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas hearings every day. Even though Anita Hill was a Republican social conservative, she was a Black woman who taught law, and that was my dream. I watched wondering, what if something horrible like this happened to me? No one believes her.
A few years later, I started teaching in a department (that I am no longer affiliated with), and I soon found out. We went on an international research trip. We were in a warm destination during January term, and my department chair asked me to go to a topless beach with him.
Similar to Anita Hill, I did not come forward. A well-meaning white colleague (like Nina Totenberg), told the Dean who insisted that I file a grievance. I was not tenured and couldn't imagine defying the Dean.
To make a long story short, an investigation was done, and I was not believed. Similar to Professor Hill, I was publicly vilified. Similar to Professor Hill, my career persevered.
I am sharing this story because a few years later I ran into my perpetrator's wife. Unlike Virginia Thomas, she never called my campus phone and she never asked me to apologize.
If Mrs. Thomas thinks that those of us who have experienced this are sorry that we spoke truth to power, well yes Virginia; there is a Santa Claus.



Anita Faye Hill























The cast (L-R): Sam Riley, Helen Mirren, Andrea Riseborough and John Hurt
Stellar support: The film also features performances from Helen Mirren and John Hurt
The 1947 original: Richard Attenborough as Pinkie and Carol Marsh as Rose
All-star cast: Sam and Andrea are among the famous faces in the new version of Brighton Rock
Mods and Rockers: The new version of the film, based on Graham Greene's novel, updates the action to 1964
Adriana Sklenarikova
Gillian Anderson
Annette O'Toole
Asia Argento B. Monkey (1998)
Bridget Fonda Point of No Return (1993)
Charlize Theron
Georgina Chapman The Business(2005)
Helen Mirren The Long Good Friday (1980)
Helen Hunt
Natasha Henstridge Power and Beauty (2002)
Isabelle Huppert Rien ne va plus (1997)
Juliette Lewis
Nicole Kidman
Elizabeth Hurley
Virginia Madsen Candyman (1992)
Maria Carla Boscone
Mathilda_May
Michelle Pfeiffer Scarface (1983)
Monica Bellucci Comme un poisson hors de l'eau (1999)
Natalia Vodianova
Pink
Romina Mondello
Uma Thurman
Valeria Golino






















Best Actress Marion Cotillard, in Jean Paul Gaultier and Chopard jewelry
Renée Zellweger, in Carolina Herrera and Cartier jewelry

Heidi Klum, in custom John Galliano, Heidi Klum Collection for Mouawad jewelry, and Stuart Weitzman shoes
Anne Hathaway, in Marchesa and Harry Winston jewelry






Laura Linney, in Michael Kors, Cathy Waterman jewelry, and a Salvatore Ferragamo clutch and shoes
Jessica Alba, in a deep-purple feathered Marchesa gown and Cartier jewelry
Amy Ryan, in Calvin Klein Collection and H. Stern jewelry
Diane Lane, in David Meister with H Stern jewelry
Rosamund Pike, in Roland Mouret and H. Stern jewelry
Calista Flockhart in vintage Valentino
Kelly Preston, in Roberto Cavalli, Lorraine Schwartz jewelry, and Daniel Swarovski clutch
Ellen Page, in vintage Jean-Louis Scherrer Haute Couture with a vintage Judith Leiber clutch
Jennifer Hudson, in Roberto Cavalli
Nicole Kidman, in Balenciaga, a L'Wren Scott necklace, and a Bottega Veneta clutch
Cate Blanchett, in a deep blue satin Dries Van Noten with a Roger Vivier clutch
Best Supporting Actress Tilda Swinton, in Lanvin
























