Beverly Hills Women’s Club
Friendship & Philanthropy Since 1916

Founded in 1916, the Beverly Hills Women’s Club is the oldest continually operating organization in the City of Beverly Hills, aside from the local government, which was formed just two years earlier. The heart of Beverly Hills, since its inception, the Club’s mission has been steadfast:

Advancement in all lines of general culture, the opportunity for social service, and the upbuilding of community Spirit in the City of Beverly Hills.

The forward-thinking club founders incorporated the Beverly Hills Women’s Club in California in 1921, purchased a triple lot on Chevy Chase Drive in 1923, federated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1924, and commissioned architects George Elmore Gable & C. Stanley Wyant to design the clubhouse in 1925. Today, the building is designated Historic Landmark #3 by the City of Beverly Hills and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2025, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the historic 7,500 square foot clubhouse, the club’s leadership initiated a capital campaign and restored the clubhouse to grandeur.

From the beginning, BHWC members have been civic and cultural leaders. The Club’s first president, Mrs. Force Parker (Mary Katherine Moore Parker), attended the 1920 Democratic National Convention just weeks before the 19th Amendment was ratified, granting women the right to vote nationally. Over the years, members and supporters have included women who inspired imaginations worldwide, such as Mary Pickford, Gloria Swanson, Judy Garland, and Amelia Earhart. Earhart was a featured speaker at a 1935 BHWC event advocating for an independent Beverly Hills Unified School District, which became a reality in 1936, thanks in large part to the Club’s leadership. Other essential early members of the BHWC included: Betty Blake, the wife and business partner of Will Rogers; Margaret J. (MJ) Anderson, the original proprietor of the Beverly Hills Hotel and donor of the City’s first public park; Mildred Davis, the famous actress and wife of filmmaker Harold Lloyd. After marrying in 1923, Mildred Davis stepped away from a successful acting career to devote herself to building the Lloyds’ estate, Green Acres, and to the Beverly Hills Women’s Club, which she joined in 1925. Under her leadership, the Club donated one of the nation’s first electric fountains to the City of Beverly Hills in 1931, a landmark that still graces the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. Many of Beverly Hills’ street names: Burton Way, Greenway Drive, Reeves Drive, Spaulding Drive, Whittier Drive, as well as many street names in the hills, known as Beverly Hills Post Office (whose residents were called Beverly Hillers): Angelo Drive, Benedict Canyon Drive, Davies Drive, Green Acres Drive, Reevesbury Drive, Wanda Park Drive, Westwanda Drive all reflect the women and their families whose leadership helped shape both the Club and the City itself.

Today, the Beverly Hills Women’s Club is Beverly Hills’ legacy club with a vibrant membership. The BHWC offers a unique and wonderful way to connect with dynamic women drawn to the BHWC’s everlasting mission. In addition to the local, civic-minded women who support the club, the BHWC also attracts visits from local, state and national leadership. These visitors in recent years have included: Admiral Linda L. Fagan, the first woman in U.S. history to serve as Commandant of the Coast Guard, and the first woman to lead any branch of the U.S. armed forces; U.S. Senators: Mazie Hirono (HI), Jackie Rosen (NV), Tammy Baldwin (WI), Angela Alsobrooks (MD) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE). U.S Representatives: Zoe Logfren (CA-16), Dr. Yadira Caraveo (CO-08), Susie Lee (NV-03), Marie Glusenkamp Perez (WA-03) and Janelle Bynum (OR-5) have also recently attended luncheons at the club. California Treasurer Fiona Ma, California Controller Malia Cohen, Los Angeles County Supervisors: Holly Mitchell, Janice Hahn and Lindsey Horvath, who all serve on the first all female Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, have also visited. Supervisor Horvath has the distinction of being the youngest woman ever elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, since 1852! Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Beverly Hills Councilmember (and former Mayor) Sharona Nazarian have also joined repeated events at the clubhouse, including a Women Making History luncheon in March 2026, when then Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian was recognized as the first Persian-American woman to be elected to the Beverly Hills City Council and to also be the first Persian-American woman Mayor of Beverly Hills. At that same event U.S. Ambassador (Ret.) Kristina Kvien was honored as the first woman to serve as President & CEO of the Pacific Council. In March 2027, the club’s annual Women Making History event will honor Beth Kean, CEO of Holocaust Museum LA at the Goldrich Cultural Center. Under Beth’s 10-year leadership as museum CEO (and 24 year tenure as board member), HMLA just completed the $70 million Goldrich Cultural Center, a new 1.5 acre cultural center in the heart of Los Angeles. The expanded campus is now known as Holocaust Museum LA at The Goldrich.

In recent years, BHWC’s philanthropic activities have supported: Downtown Women’s Center, Beauty Bus, American Red Cross, UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital, Make a Wish Foundation, Not Today Cancer Run of the Stars, Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles, Salvation Army Westwood Transitional Village, GARDEN! and the Colleagues. October 2026 the BHWC was proud to host an event sponsored by Bird Marella, whose founding partner, the late Dorothy Wolpert, mentored the legal careers of many dozens of women in Los Angeles over fifty years. Bird Marella announced from the clubhouse stage the firm’s enduring gift to the Inner City Law Center to celebrate Dorothy and her legacy of community service and public interest law. The Dorothy Wolpert Housing Justice Fellowship at the Inner City Law Center will provide a two-year fellowship for a recent law school graduate who will help low income tenants remain safely and securely housed.

In March 2026, the Beverly Hills City Council honored the Beverly Hills Women’s Club with a Unity Award, recognizing BHWC’S Extraordinary Commitment Fostering Community, Culture, Philanthropy and Education.