It’s her turn now!
She is the most powerful woman in Hollywood. She is respected by all in the film industry due to her hard work and diligence. George Lucas named her as his successor for Lucasfilm in 2012 and she was selected to sit on the Board of Governors and Board of Trustees of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
In total, Kennedy has produced or executive-produced more than 60 movies. She has 120 Academy Award® nominations, 25 wins, and her movies have grossed over $11 billion US worldwide. Among her credits are four of the highest grossing films in motion picture history: Jurassic Park, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Sixth Sense, as well as the now not-so-nerd classics such as the Back to the Future trilogy, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Gremlins.
It is not all science fiction. In fact some might say her more serious work takes her into the category of legend-maker. Moving, engaging and memorable dramas like Lincoln, War Horse, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Diving Bell and the Butter y, Munich, Seabiscuit, Schindler’s List and The Color Purple have taught us all more about ourselves and each other than many other artistic expressions. Her animated motion pictures like The Adventures of Tintin, Persepolis, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time, have inspired the young and the young at heart.
The best with the best has been proven over and over in the teaming up of Kennedy with many celebrated directors, including Spielberg, Scorsese, Eastwood and Bogdanovich and of course her latest smash hit with J.J. Abrams, The Force Awakens, cinches it. Before Lucasfilm, Kennedy was the CEO of The Kennedy/Marshall Company, which she founded in 1992 with director/producer Frank Marshall, and in 1982 she co-founded the phenomenally successful Amblin Entertainment with Marshall and Steven Spielberg.
“I met all these guys when they were big, powerful guys,” she said, setting the words “big, powerful” in air quotes. “ The great thing is, at whatever point they decided they were powerful, they always empowered me. So I never felt like I was in the midst of something that wasn’t a balanced relationship.”
– Kathleen Kennedy