Sherry Lansing (born Sherry Lee Duhl; July 31, 1944) is an American former film studio executive serving as chairwoman of Universal Music Group's board of directors since 2023. She previously served as chairwoman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, and president of production at 20th Century Fox prior to her retirement. From 1999 to 2022, she was on the University of California Board of Regents.
In 2005, she became the first female film studio head to place hand and footprints at the Grauman's Chinese Theater. In 2001, she was named one of the 30 most powerful women in the US by Ladies' Home Journal,[1] and The Hollywood Reporter named her number 1 on its Power 100 list numerous times.[2]
Early life and education
Lansing was born Sherry Lee Duhl in Chicago, Illinois, to Margaret Heimann and real estate investor David Duhl. Her mother fled from Nazi Germany in 1937, at the age of 17. After her father died when Lansing was nine, her mother remarried Norton S. Lansing.[3] She was raised in a Jewish household.[4][5]
Lansing briefly dabbled in acting, appearing as Susan in the 1970 rom-com “Loving,” starring Eva-Marie Saint and George Segal, and co-starring Sterling Hayden. Also in 1970, Lansing played Amelita in Academy Award Winning Director Howard Hawks’ last film “Rio Lobo,” starring John Wayne, and co-starring Jorge Rivero and Jennifer O’Neill. Lansing also appeared in several television shows and documentaries about films, and the actors, and actresses, starring in them. Dissatisfied with her own acting skills, she decided to learn more about the film industry from the ground up.[7]
Production
Lansing took a job with MGM as head script reader. She then became VP of Production at Columbia Pictures and oversaw two highly-successful films, The China Syndrome and Kramer vs. Kramer, both released in 1979. Her work at Columbia Pictures eventually led to an appointment with 20th Century Fox in 1980, at age 35, as the first female production president of a major studio.[8][9][10] She resigned in December 1982 and became a partner with Stanley R. Jaffe (with whom she shares a birthday) to form Jaffe-Lansing Productions based at Paramount Pictures.[9] 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 also produced The Accused (1988) starring Jodie Foster, about 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.[11]
Other Jaffe-Lansing productions include Black Rain (1989), starring Michael Douglas, Andy Garcia, and Ken Takakura, as well as School Ties (1992), starring Brendan Fraser. On her own, Lansing produced the very successful Indecent Proposal (1993), starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore, and Woody Harrelson.
Lansing in 1980
Chairman of Paramount
In 1992, Lansing was offered the chairmanship of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group.[9] 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 – Titanic (the latter two during a partnership with 20th Century Fox).[9][12][13]
Viacom (which purchased Paramount in 1994) 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."[14][13]
She served as a Regent of the University of California from 1999–2022, and as chairman of the board from 2011–2013.[6][9][12] She sits on the boards of the Broad Museum, The Carter Center,[13] the Entertainment Industry Foundation, The W.M. Keck Foundation, the Lasker Foundation, the Pacific Council on International Policy, and Scripps Research. In 2007, she founded the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program, on whose board she serves as chair. She is also co-founder of the Stand Up To Cancer initiative, which funds research teams bringing cancer treatments to patients faster.
Chairman of Universal Music Group Board of Directors
In 2005, she created the Sherry Lansing Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for cancer research, K-12 public education, and encore career opportunities.[14][9][13] She is a recipient of UCLA Anderson School of Management's highest honor-the Exemplary Leadership in Management (ELM) Award.[citation needed]
In March 2020, she hosted a fundraiser for Joe Biden at her home.[18]
Personal life
Lansing married fellow student Michael Brownstein in 1967 while attending Northwestern University. They divorced in 1970.[19] She was married to director William Friedkin from 1991 until his death in 2023.[20][21]
Lansing and former MGM studio head James T. Aubrey were struck by a car while crossing Wilshire Boulevard in 1978. Both were badly hurt and Lansing had to use crutches for a year and a half.[22]
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.[34]
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