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Sherry Lansing

American former actress and film studio executive

Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American former actress and film studio executive. She is a former CEO of Paramount Pictures and president of production at 20th Century Fox. Many believe that she was the first woman to head a Hollywood production company, and was the first female head of Hollywood production company to have a star on the Walk of Fame. In 1996, she became the first woman to be named Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of the Motion Picture Pioneers. In 1999, she was appointed to the University of California Board of Regents. In 2005, she became the first female movie studio head to place hand and foot prints at the Grauman's Chinese Theater. In 2001, she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by Ladies' Home Journal, and The Hollywood Reporter named her fourth on its Power 100 list in 2003.

Contents

  • 1 Biography
    • 1.1 Early life
    • 1.2 Career in production
    • 1.3 Chairman of Paramount
    • 1.4 Philanthropic career
  • 2 Personal life
  • 3 Filmography
    • 3.1 Producer
    • 3.2 Actress or herself
  • 4 Awards and recognition
  • 5 References
  • 6 External links

Biography

Early life

Lansing was born Sherry Lee Duhl in Chicago, Illinois on July 31, 1944. Her mother, Margaret "Margot" Heimann, fled from National Socialist German Workers' Party Germany in 1937 at the age of 17. Her father, David Duhl, was a real estate investor who died when she was nine. Her mother remarried and died in 1984 from ovarian cancer. She was raised in a Jewish household. Lansing attended the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and graduated in 1962. In 1966, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Northwestern University, where she was a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority.

Lansing is a former mathematics teacher and model. She pursued an acting career (appearing in two films released in 1970, Loving and Rio Lobo, starring John Wayne) but, dissatisfied with her own acting skills, she decided to learn more about the film industry from the ground up. She took a job with MGM as head script reader and worked on two successful films, The China Syndrome and Kramer vs. Kramer, both released in 1979.

Career in production

Lansing's work at MGM eventually led, after a stint at Columbia Pictures, to an appointment with 20th Century Fox in 1980, at age 35, as the first female production president of a major studio. She resigned in December 1982 and became a partner with Stanley R. Jaffe to form Jaffe-Lansing Productions based at Paramount Pictures. The company released a consistent string of minor hits through Paramount before achieving box-office success with Fatal Attraction in 1987, for which Jaffe and Lansing received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture the following year. The partnership produced The Accused (1988) starring Jodie Foster. It dealt with the horrors of rape and its impact on a victim's life. The film featured a graphic rape scene and was highly controversial when released. Made with a small budget of $6 million, it grossed over $37 million worldwide, becoming a box office hit as well as receiving critical praise with Foster scoring the Academy Award for Best Actress.

Chairman of Paramount

In 1992, she was offered the chairmanship of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group. During her tenure at Paramount, the studio enjoyed its longest and most successful string of releases since the 1930s. Under Lansing, the studio produced such hits as Forrest Gump, Braveheart, and what was, at the time, history's highest-grossing film – *anic (the latter two with Fox). Six of the ten highest-grossing Paramount films were released during her tenure which included three Academy Awards for Best Picture.

As studio chief, she focused on bottom-line cost rather than market share, preferring to take fewer risks and make lower-budget films than other studios. Viacom (which purchased Paramount in 1994) decided to split the company into two parts in 2004 and Lansing stepped down at the end of that year after an almost unprecedented twelve-year tenure atop Hollywood's legendary "Best Show in Town."

She is a Regent of the University of California. She sits on the boards of the American Red Cross, The Carter Center, DonorsChoose, Qualcomm, Teach for America, The American *ociation for Cancer Research, the Lasker Foundation and Friends of Cancer Research.

Philanthropic career

In 2005, she created The Sherry Lansing Foundation which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for cancer research. She is a recipient of UCLA Anderson School of Management's highest honor-the Exemplary Leadership in Management (ELM) Award.

In 2007, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work in cancer research at the 79th Academy Awards. The award was presented to her by Tom Cruise, her longtime friend and business partner.

In 2011, Lansing pledged $5 million to University of Chicago Laboratory Schools to build a new arts wing, including a 250-seat performance venue.

As of March 2013, Lansing was a member of the board of directors of the Dole Food Company. Beginning in 2012, she has also served as a member of the board of directors for the W. M. Keck Foundation.

In May 2018, Lansing joined the board of directors at The Scripps Research Ins*ute.

In March 2020, she hosted a fundraiser for Joe Biden at her house.

Personal life

Lansing married Academy Award-winning director William Friedkin on July 6, 1991; he had previously been married to French film star Jeanne Moreau, actress Lesley-Anne Down and Kelly Lange.

By her current marriage, Lansing has two stepsons, Jack and Cedric.

Lansing and former MGM studio head James T. Aubrey were struck by a car while crossing Wilshire Boulevard in the mid-1970s. Both were badly hurt and Lansing had to use crutches for a year and a half. Aubrey nursed her back to health. "He came every day. He would say, 'You're not going to limp.' My own mother and father couldn't have given me more support," she told Variety in 2004.

Filmography

Producer

  • Firstborn (1984)
  • When the Time Comes (1987) (TV)
  • Fatal Attraction (1987)
  • The Accused (1988)
  • Black Rain (1989)
  • School Ties (1992)
  • Indecent Proposal (1993)

Actress or herself

  • The Good Guys (1968) (TV)
  • Loving (1970)
  • Rio Lobo (1970)
  • Dan August (1971) (TV)
  • Ironside (1971) (TV)
  • Hollywood Women (1993) (TV)
  • Frasier (1996) (TV)
  • The Directors (1999) (TV)
  • Sunday Morning Shootout (2004) (TV)
  • Black Rain: Post-Production (2006)
  • Black Rain: Making the Film - Part 2 (2006)
  • Black Rain: The Script, the Cast (2006)
  • Black Rain: Making the Film - Part 1 (2006)
  • Coming Attractions: The History of the Movie Trailer (2006)
  • Boffo! Tinseltown's Bombs and Blockbusters (2006)Herself
  • ... A Father... A Son... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2005) (TV)
  • The 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) (TV)
  • The Jewish Americans (2008) (TV)
  • The Brothers Warner (2008)
  • Entertainment Tonight (2008)

Awards and recognition

  • 2017: National Women's Hall of Fame Inductee
  • 2008: CSHL Double Helix Medal Honoree
  • 2007, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • 2007, Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Pennsylvania State University
  • 2006, American *ociation of Cancer Research Public Service Award
  • 2006, Business hero, The My Hero Project
  • 2005, Big Brothers Big Sisters (L.A.) Legacy Award
  • 2005, Exemplary Leadership in Management Award presented by UCLA Anderson School of Management
  • 2005, hand and foot prints at Grauman's Chinese Theater
  • 2004, Horatio Alger Humanitarian Award
  • 2003, Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship
  • 2003, Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from the American Film Ins*ute
  • 2002, President's Award, presented by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films
  • 2000, Milestone Award presented by Producers Guild of America
  • 1996, Overcoming Obstacles Achievement Award for Business, presented by Chicago Women in Film
  • 1996, YWCA Silver Achievement Award
  • 1996, Pioneer of the Year by the Foundation of the Motion Picture Pioneers
  • 1996, Star on the walk of fame, presented by Hollywood Walk of Fame
  • 1994, Outstanding Alumna Award presented by Sigma Delta Tau (ΣΔΤ) Sorority
  • 1994, Razzie for Indecent Proposal, presented by Razzie Awards
  • 1993, Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
  • 1992, Simon Wiesenthal Center Distinguished Service Award for the Performing Arts
  • 1989, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr. Memorial Award
  • 1988, Oscar nomination for Fatal Attraction, presented by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  • 1982, Distinguished Community Service Award from Brandeis University
  • 1981, Crystal Award, presented by Women in Film for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.
  • 1980, Economic Equity Award from the Women's Equity Action League

References

    External links

    • Sherry Lansing at IMDb
    • "Moviemaker Moves to Prime Time — of Life," Northwestern magazine
    • Distinguished American profile
    • Sherry Lansing Says Goodbye to Hollywood
    • UC Regent profile
    • The Sherry Lansing Foundation
    • Friends of Cancer Research
    • Appearances on C-SPAN

    Sherry Lansing Is A Member Of

    79 Year Olds

    Sherry

    Chicago, Illinois