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Frankly, I helped a femaie friend buy a handgun, and she settled on a 9mm S & W Shield EZ.

I think we might go that route, but I wanted to see if there's a 9mm 1911 that is just universally loved first.

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There is a lot of WTF going on in here.

OP so you want to get the lady a 1911 pistol to resolve trigger control issue is what I gather.  So here is my $.02...
Changing pistol to resolve a trigger issue may not yield the results you expect and buying before letting her try is absolutely the worst decision I and many people have made.  My suggestion is go to a range that rents and has a selection of different pistols to try and let her try before you buy.  That is one thing another is buying a different pistol to resolve trigger issues is not going to fix your problem.  If she cannot exercise trigger fundamentals on a Glock it will show on any other pistol you decide to buy.  Now it may not show close in on a pistol with a lighter trigger but back her up and it will start showing.  Millions of people have bought Glocks and been able to shoot them just fine with the triggers they come with and I went through this already with the wife unit myself.  At the end of all this one positive may come out of it you will end up with several 9mm pistols so make sure you like the pistol when you buy.

Pistols you should try and let her try
Sig P226, P229, P320, P365
Glock Gen5 17/19, 43/43x/48
M&P 9 2.0 Compact, Shield line up
CZ P-10F/C, P-07/09, or a 75 series
Walther PDP or PPQ
Ruger Security 9, LCP max
1911 9mm

Let her choose what she likes do not try and influence her decision only guide her away from options you recognize she may have difficulty with.  When I say difficulty ones where she cannot reach or operate the controls of the pistol easily.

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Try a Walther PPQ or PDP.

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DW Vigil or Guardian.    I carry my Vigil commander length daily, and it has ran flawless.

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Have a gunsmith look at that mag release all the Hi Powers that I have had were flawless in operation and quite accurate.
I have to agree with you on the Hi Power safety being too small to be ideal however the new Springfield Armory version appears much improved.  Perhaps the term expert only is an over statement but one absolutely must be willing to train and spend time using it.  This is not a platform that you can load it put it in the dresser drawer and take it out 20 years later to use in an emergency and be proficient with.   I have see several negligent discharges with 1911 one fatal.

It is a thinking mans weapon.

For a novice having problems with a glock who is wanting a lighter trigger a DA/SA either a revolver or semi auto is a safe choice, even a single action revolver can be a great place to start and fine tune those skills on sight control and trigger control but until someone  learns muzzle discipline and off target off trigger, they are not safe with any firearm  and the 1911 is not very forgiving.  With a 1911 if the safety is off the grip safety is depressed and the trigger is depressed they go bang and while that makes sense to most of us what seems to f up is that people grasp with their whole hand sometimes without thinking about what they are doing unintentionally causing the hammer to fall under certain conditions. brakes slammed on in the car, trip and fall, gunsmith trying to force a feeding issue round goes into the chamber and surprise grip safety and trigger were depressed but he sure had a solid grip on that handle ...Bang.  De-cocking the hammer to 1/4 cock or to carry with the hammer down and have the hammer get away from you......  Walk through a commercial building after finding an open door in the middle of the night and let an air compressor kick on... I know a cop who shot an air compressor that way.  Have someone try to run over you with a car and dive to the side landing on your shoulder ....  bang ... people grip with their whole hand as a reflex under certain conditions ....that finger has to be off the trigger.  Note:  they have only been teaching  Off target off trigger for about the last 25 years before that it didn't exist.

1911 is a thinking mans gun.

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Dan Wesson Specialist. I had good luck with the Metal Form "springfield" style mags and the Metal Form 10rd mags were identical to what my gun came with from the factory and worked flawlessly.

I had quite a few Wilson Combat ETMs but if I pushed up on those while dropping the slide it would stop the slide from going into battery. Realized it was because the Wilson mags sat a little higher in the gun and the slide would rub on the top of the feedlips if I pushed up on them. They worked fine during actual shooting though.

I liked the DW but got rid of it because I just couldn't retrain myself to not grip the gun so high that I had trouble disengaging the grip safety.

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A 1911 is an expert only gun. It is a thinking man’s gun.  I have even seen a trained police gunsmith accident discharge a 1911.
Go look for an H&K P30 or a similar Sig like P226.  Those have a heavy double action first shot followed by single action. But because they have a de-cocking feature you reduce the risk of accidental discharge. The ultra light first shot trigger pull of a 1911 which has to be carried cocked and locked with the chamber loaded is a problem for inexperienced shooters. Army reduced the risk by carrying a 1911 with chamber empty but for a self defense gun an empty chamber will get you killed. When carrying a 1911 one has to regularly check that the safety is still on and has not accidentally been bumped to off. That is not a huge problem because of the grip safety a feature that the Browning HiPower lacks. If it’s a range only gun go Wilson Combat or for a fourth the price the new Springfield Armory clone of a Browning HiPower. But understand the risk.  Some people should never progress past double action revolvers then thay have the safe carry option of the heavy double action trigger but can cock the hammer for that light trigger to make a precise controlled shot. That is what the guns like H&K P30 and Sig P226 P229 mimic. That heavy first pull unless you intentionally cock it saves inexperienced shooters a lot of negligent discharges.

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Am I the only one that owns/shoots/carries  a 1911 and doesn’t find a stock Glock trigger hateful? If you hate it that bad add a 3.5 connector. Or get one if the other wonder 9. For small hands the vp9 has to be high on the list.