Patricia Douglas

Patricia Dorothy Douglas (March 24, 1917 – November 11, 2003) was an American dancer and movie extra. Douglas was the subject of the documentary Girl 27 documenting her 1937 rape by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) salesman David Ross and the aftermath. Douglas was one of the first people to come forward after experiencing sexual assault in the film industry, leading to a massive scandal that MGM buried by initiating a smear campaign against Douglas, and by buying-off potential prosecution witnesses.

Douglas left the industry after her rape, but appeared on camera 65 years later, having been contacted by biographer David Stenn, who discovered that she was still alive while investigating the story of the 1937 rape and cover-up.

Early life and career Patricia Douglas was born Dorothy Shellenberger on March 24, 1917. At some point, the mother and daughter moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue work in the film industry. Douglas dropped out of school at the age of 14, changed her name to Patricia Douglas, and focused on pursuing a film career, working as a dancer and extra, appearing in So This Is Africa and Gold Diggers of 1933.

When the grand jury refused to indict Ross, Douglas filed a civil suit against studio personnel and the other party attendees in Los Angeles Superior Court. When that suit was dismissed in February 1938, she sued again in federal court, alleging a civil rights violation. David Stenn, in a 2003 article about the case in Vanity Fair, claimed this was the first time a woman had filed a suit in federal court claiming that a rape violated her civil rights. She was married three times and gave birth to one daughter. Douglas died in November 2003, aged 86. Her speaking out against her rapist was re-evaluated following the emergence of the #MeToo movement. Rose McGowan praised the film and the telling of Douglas's story.