A former schoolteacher, model and actor, Sherry Lansing worked her way up through the Hollywood hierarchy to be appointed president of production at 20th Century-Fox in 1980, becoming the first woman to hold that position in the movie industry. With producer Stanley R. Jaffe, she formed Jaffe-Lansing productions in 1982. The team was responsible for films such as "Fatal Attraction" (1987) and "The Accused" (1988). As a result of Jaffe's appointment as president and chief operating officer of Paramount Pictures in 1991, Jaffe-Lansing Productions disbanded and Lansing continued as a producer on the Paramount lot under her own banner, Sherry Lansing Productions. In November 1992, Lansing was named chairman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group. The studio had one of its biggest hits, 1994's Oscar-winning "Forrest Gump", under her aegis. In December 1995, she extended her contract to remain as chair of Paramount Pictures through the year 2000.
- Also Credited As:
Sherry Lee Lansing
- Born:
July 31, 1944 in Chicago, Illinois
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Job Titles:
Executive, Producer, Actor, Model, Story editor, School teacher
Family
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Father: Norton Lansing. died in June 1996 at age 86
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Mother: Margo L Lansing.
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Step-son: Josh Friedkin.
Significant Others
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Husband: . married six years; divorced while Lansing was still teaching school in Watts, in 1968
Education
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Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, speech and theater, BS
Milestones
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1966 Taught math in Watts section of Los Angeles
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1970 Feature acting debut, "Loving"
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1970 Last film as actress, "Rio Lobo"
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1971 Worked as a script reader (date approximate)
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1977 Appointed senior vp production, Columbia Pictures
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1977 Made executive story editor (1975), then executive VP creative affairs, at MGM
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1982 Formed own production company, Jaffe-Lansing Productions, with Stanley Jaffe
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1984 Executive produced first feature, "Racing With the Moon"
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1987 Executive produced first TV show, "When the Time Comes"
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1992 Named chairwoman of Paramount Pictures' Motion Picture Group
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1996 Received star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in July
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1996 Signed five-year contract with Paramount to remain as chair until the year 2000
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2004 Stepped down as Paramount's studio chief after an almost unprecedented twelve-year tenure
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2005 Created The Sherry Lansing Foundation, which is dedicated to raising awareness and funds for cancer research
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Appointed president of production at Twentieth Century-Fox, the first woman to hold that position in the movie industry
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Became story editor for Wagner International Prod. Co.
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Made head of development for Talent Associates, all West Coast projects
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Named vice president of production for Heyday Productions, Universal City, California
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Regular role in TV series, "Banyon"
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Worked as model and in TV commercials for Max Factor and Alberto-Culver Co.