Audrey’s Children is the true story of a medical pioneer and genius who has been forgotten by history because she’s a woman. Dr. Audrey Evans (Natalie Dormer) was a pediatric oncologist who revolutionized cancer treatment.

Audrey’s Children begins midway through Audrey’s career in medicine when she moved to Philadelphia from England in 1969 to take charge of children’s cancer treatment. She loved the children and was fantastic with them. She cared about the families, too, and tried to comfort them as best she could. When she arrived in Philadelphia, the survival rate for children with cancer was 10%. By the end of her career, it was 80%.

Although she cared deeply for her patients, she did not care about following protocols and rules. She often landed in trouble with her boss Dr. C. Everett Koop (Clancy Brown). She had bold ideas and wanted to try new treatments. She wanted money ahead of the other departments in the hospital.

Most of the other doctors resented her. She faced sexism at every turn. She befriended Dr. Dan D’Angio (Jimmi Simpson) and Dr. Brian Faust (Brandon Micheal Hall) who put their own careers at risk to help her.

Dr. Audrey Evans was the person who realized a combination of drugs in chemotherapy would be more effective than one drug alone. She developed a system of labeling cancers by stages – stage 1, stage 2, and so on – to identify the severity and prognosis of the cancer and to help determine what treatment to use.

She marched into pharmaceutical companies when the hospital refused to fund her work and asked for money and drugs. She saw families sleeping in hospital hallways outside the cancer ward and went to the Philadelphia Eagles football team for money to buy a house where families could stay free. The Eagles got McDonald’s involved and the first Ronald McDonald House opened in Philadelphia. Since then there have been over 1000 Ronald McDonald Houses established.

Ami Canaan Mann directed Audrey’s Children. It was beautifully done, with Natalie Dormer leading a team of excellent actors. Audrey Dunn’s name should be as well known as that of any male medical pioneer. I hope this wonderful film helps fill that gap.

The film is available on Peacock or can be rented from Prime, Apple TV+, YouTube, and several other streamers. I completely recommend it.