Sherry Lansing has been one of the most successful and well-liked executives in Hollywood. She was the first woman to have headed a major motion picture studio and later served as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures. She had been involved in the production and release of more than 200 movies until she decided to dedicate her time and energy to philanthropic endeavors.
Before setting out for Hollywood and finding her calling in the entertainment industry, Lansing earned a degree in speech and theater from Northwestern University. She spent a few years as a high school teacher in Los Angeles and worked as a model and actress.
She started her career at the bottom of the film industry, but quickly rose through the ranks. She worked as chief story editor at MGM and senior vice president of production at Columbia Pictures, before heading production at 20th Century Fox in 1980 at age 35. Three years later, she left the studio and returned to producing films in an independent production company.
By accepting the position of chairman at Paramount Pictures in 1992, she brought both creative and consistent financial success to the studio. While it was uncommon to see a woman in this role, she was praised for her likable personality and incredible people skills.
In 2005, after a more than twelve-year tenure, she eventually moved on and began a second career as a full-time philanthropist. “The movie business was changing, I didn't want to turn 60 in the job. I picked 60 as an age where you are young enough to have a new life but not so young you can wait. And I had this incredible need: I had been so blessed in life and I wanted to give back. So I left Paramount with great joy, I have to say, and with great fondness for the memories I have in the movie business,” she explained.
She founded the Sherry Lansing Foundation dedicated to public education, health, and cancer research, as well as the EnCorps STEM Teachers Program, which trains and recruits professionals in the STEM field to become educators in underprivileged communities. She also sits on the boards of multiple organizations.
Not only did she put her unique stamp on award-winning films and many ambitious projects in her three-decade career, but she has also successfully made her mark by turning that success into ways to give back to the world at large.