Lori Petty Says ‘Every Single Female in California’ Auditioned for “A League of Their Own” — Even the Spice Girls (Exclusive)

Meredith WilshereSat, August 8, 2026 at 11:59 AM UTC

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Lori Petty in A League of Their OwnCredit: Snap/Shutterstock -

Lori Petty says A League of Their Own was a groundbreaking feminist work despite the challenges director Penny Marshall faced to make it

Petty recalls the intense audition process, with women eager for roles beyond stereotypical characters like wives or mothers

Petty shares her favorite scene was hitting a real home run, emphasizing the film’s authenticity and lasting legacy

Lori Petty knew A League of Their Own was going to be an important film based on the diversity in roles for women tired of only playing wives and mothers.

Petty shares with PEOPLE that A League of Their Own was “groundbreaking feminist work,” but adds that director Penny Marshall “went through some s---” to get it made.

“They were like, ‘They’re not going to watch a movie with all girls in it.’ They were just so condescending to her, and it took years to get it together,” Petty notes.

The cast of ‘A League of Their Own’Credit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

When it was time to cast for the movie, Petty recalls that “every single female in California was at the auditions.”

“Marla Maples was at the audition. There were, I think, Spice Girls at the audition. Women were begging to be more than the wife or the whore or the mom. Pick one. I’m like, ‘What about the person who owns a gas station? What about the person who owns the bank in all these movies?’ When you see 40 guys and two girls in the credits, it’s just disheartening and just gross,” Petty shares.

The 1992 baseball movie starred Madonna, Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Rosie O’Donnell, Jon Lovitz, Megan Cavanagh, Ann Cusack, Tracy Reiner and Freddie Simpson, to name a few. The film followed the fictionalized story of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, which was developed around World War II.

One of the reasons the movie worked, according to Petty, was that it felt real. When they were playing baseball, the actresses were playing against actual local teams. For Petty, there’s one scene in particular she loved filming because it was so authentic.

Petty shares that “when I hit my home run, I really hit that damn ball on the high and outside.”

Petty, who played baseball her whole life, noted that “that was my favorite pitch in real life too.”

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“When I hit it and then I ran those bases perfectly and with that crane was perfect, and then my running... it was perfect,” she shares. “There’s no stutter steps. It was all the inside corner. Come around the thing, bash the hell out of Geena’s double, run over that person. It was great because it was perfect. I loved it.”

“There was no movie magic,” the Point Break actress adds.

‘A League Of Their Own’ stars Lori Petty, Tom Hanks and Geena DavisCredit: Moviestore/Shutterstock

However, the cast was so dedicated that it sometimes led to issues on set.

“There was vomiting involved because it was super hot,” Petty recalls. “And I’ve got on a wig, a wool hat, wool socks, satin shorts under that heavy costume, and the enormous leather 1940s cleats that had real huge metal things in them. People used to faint all the time on set, and Penny would go, ‘Take off a costume, put it on someone else. Let’s go.’ “

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Petty calls the legacy of the movie “enormous,” despite not knowing it at the time.

“Of course, we had no idea because if people knew how to make an astonishing, important, never-ending movie, they would do it,” Petty says. “It’s not up to me how you feel about my art. It’s up to me to make what I want to make and to give you my heart.”

However, there’s no denying the impact of the hit film.

“Then when something becomes iconic and everlasting, you’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s awesome.’ That makes you happy because there’s so much empathy and compassion and give and take with the audience that it’s nice that they showed up and I showed up. We both showed up,’ ” Petty says.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”