Sherry Lansing

Distinguished Alumnae Award Recipient, 1989

SOC BSS 1966 cum laude

Hollywood film producer, and former President of Productions 20th Century Fox. During her nearly 30-year career in the film industry, Lansing was involved in the production, marketing and distribution of more than 200 films, including three Academy Award-winning movies: “Forrest Gump” (1994), “Braveheart” (1995), and “Titanic” (1997). In 1984 she became the first woman to head a major film studio when she took the top job at 20th Century Fox. As an independent producer, she was responsible for such successful films as “Fatal Attraction” (1987), “The Accused” (1988), “Black Rain” (1989), “School Ties” (1992) and “Indecent Proposal” (1993). In 1992 Lansing was named Chair and CEO of Paramount Pictures, where she began a creative and successful 12-year tenure. She is the first female movie studio head to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. While best known for her long and successful career as a studio executive, she also spent four years after college teaching high school English and math at public schools throughout the Los Angeles area. A believer in the power of education, she is the CEO of The Sherry Lansing Foundation and sits on many boards, including The Carter Center, the Entertainment Industry Foundation, and the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. She also is a Trustee of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles, where she co-founded the scholarship program.