Sherry Lansing, Rewriting Hollywood

Thanks to Sherry Lansing, a long line of female executives have moved behind the camera in the film industry over the last two decades.

Sherry’s keen intelligence, confidence in her intuition and sense of self paved the way for some of the biggest names like Elizabeth Gabbler, President of Fox; Donna Langley, Chairman of Universal Pictures; and, Ava DuVernay, an independent filmmaker.

Sherry  broke the proverbial glass ceiling in 1980,  after she was named the first female President of 20^th Century Fox Studios.  Her path to the top as Chairman of a major movie studio in 1992 was an unlikely one, given her parents who refused to let her take acting classes in college.  They insisted she study only those subjects that would help her support herself. 

No slouch in the brainpower department,  Sherry respected their wishes and graduated from Northwestern University in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, English and Teaching.  Determined to give acting a try, Sherry didn’t give up that easily and pursued her dream even after she married a doctor and they moved to Los Angeles for his residency.