Where Is Mavis Beacon, the Woman Who Taught Us to Type?

Seeking Mavis Beacon (2024), a documentary by director Jazmin Jones and computer programmer Olivia McKayla Ross, searches for Renée L'Espérance, the Haitian woman who modeled for the fictional character in the 1987 education software Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and recently screened at BlackStar Film Festival in Philadelphia. According to the article, the software developers reportedly discovered L'Espérance while she worked at a department store perfume counter and paid her $500 for her image, while the game series sold six million copies between 1987 and 1998. Jones tells Hyperallergic that she came to see the process as "extractive," and the pair eventually considers that L'Espérance may simply not want to be found.