Behind the scenes in Hollywood: a number of Black women are putting their signature on Tinsel Town

THEIRS might not be recognizable names and may never appear on theater marquees. But that's perfectly fine with them. They are among a growing number of Black women in the ivory towers of Tinsel Town, greenlighting projects, making deals for some of the best-known actors in the world, negotiating contracts and putting together projects for the big and small screen.

They have joined the ranks of well-known dealmakers, and movers and shakers. On the following pages, we profile some of Hollywood's best and brightest--and most powerful--who keep the entertainment industry polished and moving forward.

DEBRA LANGFORD

Executive Director of Strategic Sourcing & Talent Management, Time Warner

Langford is in charge of identifying and introducing top-tier, diverse executives for all the business units of Time Warner, including Time Warner Corporate, AOL, HBO, New Line, Turner, Warner Brothers, Time Warner Cable and Time Inc. Previously, she served as vice president of Essence Entertainment and vice president of television for Quincy Jones/David Saltzman Entertainment, where she was responsible for all aspects of development and production, and managed such series as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House and Mad TV.

JAMILA HUNTER

Vice President of Comedy Development for 20th Century Fox Television

Hunter is charged with developing and overseeing new comedies for network television, discovering new talent (including writers, directors and actors) and targeting properties that can be adapted into comedy series. Programs under her supervision include the upcoming NBC series The Singles Table and the critically acclaimed Fox series Kitchen Confidential. Before joining Fox, she was vice president of development and production at cable's Bravo channel, where she was part of the team that launched such programs as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Celebrity Poker Showdown, Blow Out and Project Runway. Programs under her watch included Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's Project Greenlight, Kathy Griffin's comedy, The D-List, and the reality series Long Way Round. While at NBC Entertainment, she also helped launch such hit series as Fear Factor and The Apprentice.

MARA BROCK AKIL

Creator and executive producer

Brock Akil is the creator and executive producer of the long-running bit comedy Girlfriends, one of the most popular prime-time series with Black audiences. Brock Akil began her entertainment career as a writer for Fox's acclaimed series South Central. Later, she wrote for the UPN hit Moesha. She soon became the show's producer. Her television credits also include serving as supervising producer on The Jamie Foxx Show. In 2000, she created Girlfriends, which became one of the most popular shows on network television that year.

PEARLENA IGBOKWE

Senior Vice President Original Programming, Showtime

Igbokwe oversees creative development and production for a distinctive and varied number of scripted and nonfiction original programming for Showtime cable TV. She developed and currently oversees the creative affairs and production of a variety of Showtime projects, including The Underground, a half-hour sketch comedy starring Damon Wayans. Previously, she was responsible for the five-year run of the series Soul Food. She oversaw the development of Fat Actress with Kirstie Alley and the TV adaptation of Barbershop. Igbokwe also developed and/or supervised Family Business, Interscope Presents The Next Episode and Linc. For the last 10 years, she has supervised Showtime's Black Filmmaker's Showcase, which spotlights the work of up-and-coming Black directors.

DAWN HAYNES

CEO of Dawn To Dusk Agency and Celebrity Fashion Stylist

Haynes is a wardrobe stylist to numerous Hollywood celebrities and is the chief executive officer of her own image agency. Her 17-year-old agency represents other wardrobe stylists, hair and makeup artists. She is one of the individuals immediately sought when celebrities seek instant, complete makeovers. Her clients include Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Naomi Campbell, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill, Samuel L. Jackson, Ludacris, Queen Latifah, Quincy Jones, Patti LaBelle, Brandi and Eve. As a wardrobe stylist, she has personally provided her fashion sensibilities for Halle Berry, Usher, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy. In the past, she worked with En Vogue, Vanessa L. Williams and TLC.

PILAR MCCURRY

Senior Vice President of Music Creative Affairs at Sony Pictures Entertainment

In her capacity, McCurry develops music to support filmmakers ' creative vision. She creates a musical template that leads to the development of the songs that are included in the final version of films. For each film, the process includes reviewing dozens of unrecorded compositions to find the lyrical content that supports specific scenes in upcoming films. Once McCurry selects the composition that will help define a film, a search is made for appropriate artists and producers to record the songs that provide the best fit. During final phases of postproduction of movies, McCurry works alongside the film's music editor to ensure that the newly created music meets everyone's demands. She has worked on numerous feature films, including the soundtracks of Set It Off, Love Jones, The Wood and Men In Black. Her first feature film was Sugar Hill in 1994.