Kathleen Kennedy | |
|---|---|
 Kennedy in 2015 | |
| Born | (1953-06-05)June 5, 1953 (age 72) Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | San Diego State University |
| Occupation | Film producer |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Title | President ofLucasfilm (2012–present) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Kathleen Kennedy (born June 5, 1953) is an American film producer who has been president ofLucasfilm since 2012.
In 1981, Kennedy co-founded the production companyAmblin Entertainment withSteven Spielberg and her eventual husbandFrank Marshall. Her first film as a producer wasE.T. (1982). A decade later, again with Spielberg, she produced theJurassic Park franchise, the first two of which became two of the top tenhighest-grossing films of the 1990s. In 1992, she and Marshall foundedthe Kennedy/Marshall Company. In 2012, Kennedy became the president of Lucasfilm afterthe Walt Disney Company acquired the company.[1]
As Lucasfilm's president, Kennedy has overseen the development, production, and release of projects such as theStar Wars sequel trilogy (2015–2019), theStar Wars standalone filmsRogue One (2016) andSolo (2018) as well as the fifthIndiana Jones film,The Dial of Destiny (2023). She has also produced variousStar Wars series including six live-action series forDisney+,The Mandalorian (2019–present),The Book of Boba Fett (2021),Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022),Andor (2022–2025),Ahsoka (2023–present), andThe Acolyte (2024).
Kennedy has produced films which have earned over $11 billion worldwide, including five of thefifty highest-grossing movies in film history.[2] As a producer, she has received eightBest Picture Academy Award nominations.
Kathleen Kennedy was born on June 5, 1953, inBerkeley, California,[3] to Donald R. Kennedy, a judge and attorney, and his wife Dione Marie "Dede" (née Dousseau), a one-time theater actress.[4] She has two sisters. Her twin sister, Connie, formerly a location manager inBritish Columbia, Canada, is now the executive producer of the Virtual Production company Profile Studios.[citation needed] Her other sister is Dana Middleton-Silberstein, a television host and anchor, and press secretary/communications director for formergovernorGary Locke (D-WA).[4]
Kennedy graduated fromShasta High School inRedding, California, in 1971. She continued her education atSan Diego State University where she majored in telecommunications and film. In her final year, Kennedy gained employment at a localSan Diego TV station, KCST (nowKNSD), taking on various roles includingcamera operator,video editor,floor director and finally as KCST newsproduction coordinator.[5]
After her employment with KCST, she produced a localtalk show entitledYou're On for the station for four years, before moving toLos Angeles. In Los Angeles, Kennedy secured her first film production job working as an assistant toJohn Milius, who at the time was executive producer of Spielberg's1941 (1979).[6]
While working under Milius during the production of1941, Kennedy caught the attention ofSteven Spielberg,[7] who stated in 2015:
She was horrible at taking notes... but what she did know how to do was interrupt somebody in midsentence. We'd be pitching ideas back and forth, and Kathy—who was supposed to be writing these ideas down—suddenly put her pencil down and would say something like, "And what if he didn't get the girl, but instead he got the dog?"[8]
Spielberg asked Kennedy to become his secretary for her organizational abilities, and Kennedy gradually took on larger roles in the moviemaking process.[8] Kennedy was credited as associate to Spielberg onRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981), then associate producer on Spielberg's production ofTobe Hooper'sPoltergeist (1982).[9]
Kennedy began receiving producer credit with Spielberg on the major box-office hitE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and continued serving the role on most of his films for the next three decades. In 1982, she helpedco-found and run the production companyAmblin Entertainment with Spielberg and her future husbandFrank Marshall.[9] She also producedIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) withGeorge Lucas and Marshall, and appeared in the film's opening sequence as a dancer.[10] Following her work on theIndiana Jones films, she rose to become one of Hollywood's leading producers. With Amblin, she produced theBack to the Future trilogy, collaborating with such directors asMartin Scorsese,Robert Zemeckis,Barry Levinson, andClint Eastwood. In 1991, she and Marshall formedThe Kennedy/Marshall Company[11] with a deal atDreamWorks. She continued her business relationship with Spielberg and became producer forJurassic Park (1993) and executive producer for the historical dramaSchindler's List (also 1993).[9] Non-Spielberg films that she produced during this time includeThe Bridges of Madison County (1995),Twister (1996), andThe Sixth Sense (1999).
Kennedy was a producer on the Spielberg filmsWar of the Worlds andMunich (both 2005), the latter of which earned her anAcademy Award nomination. Marshall and Kennedy were producers for the US versions of twoStudio Ghibli animated featuresPonyo (2009) andThe Secret World of Arrietty (2012).[12][13] She also produced Spielberg'sLincoln (2012), which was nominated for sevenGolden Globes and twelve Academy Awards.[14][15]
In May 2012, she stepped down from The Kennedy/Marshall Company, leaving Marshall as sole principal of their film company.[16][17] In the following month, Kennedy became co-chair ofLucasfilm Ltd. alongside George Lucas.[18][19] On October 30, 2012, when Lucas sold his company to Disney, Kennedy was promoted to president.[20] She played a key role in revitalizingStar Wars, overseeing thesequel trilogy starting withThe Force Awakens in 2015 and the acclaimed spin-offRogue One. Kennedy also expanded the franchise into streaming with series likeThe Mandalorian andAndor.[21]
Despite this success, her future at Lucasfilm has been the subject of speculation.The Force Awakens remains the highest-grossing domestic film at $936 million ($2 billion worldwide), but subsequent films saw diminishing returns.The Rise of Skywalker earned $1 billion, about half ofThe Force Awakens. This followedSolo: A Star Wars Story, the firstStar Wars film to lose money at the box office.[22] According to insiders, a succession plan to find her replacement has been underway for a couple of years, but she still does not know when she will step down as the head of Lucasfilm.[23]
Producer
Executive producer
Associate producer
Co-executive producer
Co-producer
Producer
Executive producer
She has received eightAcademy Award for Best Picture nominations as a producer. Five of the nominations are for Spielberg directed projects such asE.T.: The Extra Terrestrial (1982),The Color Purple (1985),Munich (2005),War Horse (2011), andLincoln (2012). As a producer, she is third behindKevin Feige and Spielberg in domestic box office receipts, with over $7.5 billion as of 2020[update].[24] In 2019 she received theIrving J. Thalberg Award along with Marshall.[25][26] That same year Kennedy was appointed an honorary commander of theOrder of the British Empire, for services to film production in the United Kingdom.[27] In that same year, it was announced that she would receive theBAFTA Fellowship in 2020.[28]
During the 1980s and 1990s, Kennedy served on the advisory board of theNational Student Film Institute and in 1991 was a "Grimmy Award" recipient in recognition for her outstanding support of student film making. Kennedy was also an Honorary Chairperson of the institute.[29][30] In 1995, she was awarded theWomen in FilmCrystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[31] In 1996, she and Marshall received theAmerican Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate Award.[32] For the 2001–02 period, she was co-president (with Tim Gibbons) of theProducers Guild of America.[33] In 2007, Kennedy was the first recipient of Women in Film's Paltrow Mentorship Award, for showing extraordinary commitment to mentoring and supporting the next generation of filmmakers and executives.[34]
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