Carol Sue Littleton,ACE (born October 23, 1942)^[1] is an Americanfilm editor. Her work includesBody Heat (1981),E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982),The Big Chill (1983),Places in the Heart (1984),Silverado (1985),The Accidental Tourist (1988), andWyatt Earp (1994). She won thePrimetime Emmy Award for theABC movieTuesdays with Morrie (1999). In January 2024, she received anHonorary Oscar for her work.

Carol Littleton was born 1942 inOklahoma City^[2] but her family later moved toMiami in Northeastern Oklahoma, where she grew up.^[3] She attended the University of Oklahoma College of Arts & Sciences, obtaining her bachelor's degree in 1965 and her master's in 1970.^[4]

Her obsession with film editing started in France, when Littleton became acquainted withFrench New Wave cinema. During the 1970s, Carol Littleton owned a production company that made commercials. She moved into working as a film editor with directorKaren Arthur onLegacy (1975). Other films were to follow and Littleton received anAcademy Award nomination for editingSteven Spielberg'sE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Commencing withBody Heat (1981), Littleton had anextended collaboration with the directorLawrence Kasdan. Kasdan hired Littleton forBody Heat not only for her skill, but specifically because she was a woman. He believed only a woman editor could bring the eroticism he wanted to the film.^[5] Of the 11 films that Kasdan has directed, Littleton edited nine.

In the late 1980s, Carol Littleton was elected to and served as the president of theMotion Picture Editors Guild. Littleton served as president of theMotion Picture Editors Guild from 1988 to 1991, and as vice president from 1994 to 2001, as well as from 2005 to 2007. Littleton has been elected as a member of theAmerican Cinema Editors, and has served as ACE vice president since 2019. She is also a current member of the board of governors of theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Film Editors Branch). Littleton is one of the editors that author Gabriella Oldham interviewed for her bookFirst Cut: Conversations with Film Editors (1992).

Carol Littleton was married to cinematographerJohn Bailey from 1972 until his death in 2023.

• List of film director and editor collaborations

• Carol Littleton atIMDb
• Focus on Editing: Emmy Winner — Carol Littleton, A. C. E.TV TechnologyNewBay Media
• Kunkes, Michael (January 1, 2010)."Carol's Colleagues - Some Words from Her Admirers".CineMontage.Motion Picture Editors Guild. RetrievedApril 17, 2025.

• 1942 births
• 21st-century American women
• Academy Honorary Award recipients
• American Cinema Editors
• American film editors
• American women film editors
• Artists from Oklahoma City
• Living people
• American Cinema Editors Career Achievement Award winners

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