Kathleen Kennedy

Kathleen Kennedy (born June 5, 1953) is a six-time Academy Award nominated American movie industry executive. She has worked as producer on many films, especially with Steven Spielberg and her husband Frank Marshall. She is well known for producing the Jurassic Park films and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. As of 2008, Kennedy is the most successful film producer of all time in terms of domestic box office receipts with totals at just over $5 billion.^[1]

Early life

Kennedy was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Dione Marie "Dede" (née Dousseau), a one-time theater actress, and Donald R. Kennedy, a judge and attorney.^[2] In 1972, Kennedy graduated from Shasta High School in Redding, California. She decided to continue her education at San Diego State University where she graduated, majoring in telecommunications and film. In her final year, Kennedy got a job at a local San Diego TV station, KCST, taking on various roles and posts including camera operator, video editor, floor director and finally KCST news production coordinator.

After her employment with KCST, she then went on to produce a local talk show for the station entitled You're On for four years before moving to Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, Kennedy secured her first film production job working with John Milius who at the time was making Spielberg's 1941 (1979). The credits list her as a production assistant.

Film producer

During the production of 1941, while working for screenwriter John Milius, Kennedy came to the attention of Steven Spielberg. Spielberg hired Kennedy as his secretary but it is reported by the two that she was a terrible typist who was only kept on because of her good production ideas. Kennedy went on to co-produce Spielberg's project of Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982) and received her first full producer's credit on the box office smash, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Following her work on the Indiana Jones films especially Raiders of the Lost Ark, she rose to become one of Hollywood's leading producers. Although working on a variety of projects she continued her business relationship with Spielberg and became executive producer for both the blockbusters of Jurassic Park and the historically dramatic Schindler's List. She went on to collaborate with a large and important group of filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, Robert Zemeckis, Barry Levinson and Clint Eastwood.

In 1981 she helped co-found and run the hugely successful production company, Amblin Entertainment, with Steven Spielberg and her husband Frank Marshall. Kennedy took over a large portion of the running of Amblin and served as president of the Amblin company until 1992 when she decided to form her own film company with her husband. She became and still is a partner with Frank Marshall in The Kennedy/Marshall Company, a Santa Monica based film production company with a deal at Universal Pictures. She is also a Governor on the Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In 2005 she was executive producer on two of Spielberg's latest films - War of the Worlds and Munich.

Marshall and Kennedy were announced by Studio Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki as the producers for the US version of Ghibli's next animated feature, Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.^[3]

Filmography

• The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2011) (producer)
• The Last Airbender (2010) (producer)
• Ponyo (2009) (U.S. version co-producer)
• Crossing Over (2009) (producer)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) (producer)
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) (producer)
• Persepolis (2007) (executive producer)
• Le Scaphandre et le papillon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly) (2007) (producer)
• Munich (2005) (producer)
• War of the Worlds (2005) (producer)
• The Young Black Stallion (2003) (producer)
• Seabiscuit (2003) (producer)
• Signs (2002) (executive producer)
• Jurassic Park III (2001) (producer)
• Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001) (producer)
• The Sports Pages (2001) (TV) (executive producer)
• A Map of the World (1999) (producer)
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) (producer)
• The Sixth Sense (1999) (producer)
• Olympic Glory (1999) (executive producer)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) (executive producer)
• Twister (1996) (producer)
• The Best of Roger Rabbit (1996) (executive producer)
• Balto (1995) (executive producer)
• The Indian in the Cupboard (1995) (producer)
• Congo (1995) (producer)
• The Bridges of Madison County (1995) (producer)
• Milk Money (1994) (producer)
• The Flintstones (1994) (executive producer)
• Schindler's List (1993) (executive producer)
• We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993) (executive producer)
• A Dangerous Woman (1993) (executive producer)
• Jurassic Park (1993) (producer)
• A Far Off Place (1993) (executive producer)
• Trail Mix-Up (1993) (executive producer)
• Alive (1993) (producer)
• Noises Off (1992) (executive producer)
• Hook (1991) (producer)
• An American Tail: Fievel Goes West (1991) (executive producer)
• Cape Fear (1991) (executive producer)
• A Brief History of Time (1991) (executive producer) (uncredited)
• A Wish for Wings That Work (1991) (TV) (executive producer)
• Arachnophobia (1990) (producer)
• Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) (executive producer)
• Roller Coaster Rabbit (1990) (executive producer)
• Back to the Future Part III (1990) (executive producer)
• Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) (executive producer)
• Always (1989) (producer)
• Back to the Future Part II (1989) (executive producer)
• Dad (1989) (executive producer)
• Tummy Trouble (1989) (executive producer)
• The Land Before Time (1988) (co-executive producer)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) (executive producer)
• Batteries not included (1987) (executive producer)
• Empire of the Sun (1987) (producer)
• Innerspace (1987) (co-executive producer)
• The China Odyssey: 'Empire of the Sun', a Film by Steven Spielberg (1987) (associate producer)
• An American Tail (1986) (producer)
• The Money Pit (1986) (producer)
• The Color Purple (1985) (producer)
• Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) (executive producer)
• Back to the Future (1985) (executive producer)
• The Goonies (1985) (executive producer)
• Fandango (1985) (executive producer)
• Gremlins (1984) (executive producer)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) (associate producer)
• Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) (associate producer) (producer) (segment 2)
• Poltergeist (1982) (associate producer)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) (producer)
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (executive producer)

References

External links

• Kathleen Kennedy (film producer) at the Internet Movie Database