A
made up word, along the same vein as "
actress". Given that the standard form "
author" is
gender neutral - as indeed is
actor - it is
an unnecessary addition to a language where
gender is not meant to be an issue.
Many words in the English language are indeed gender specific, these tend to have an "er" ending, such as "waiter" and are feminised by substituting "ess", following the French pattern.
It is unfortunate that oversensitivity can lead to misapplication of this extension, as in cases where the "or" ending of a non gender specific sounds a little like the aforesaid "er" word ending.
A female actor insisting on being referred to as such would actually deserve respect for her understanding of the English language if nothing else. Scorn would hardly be appropriate.