Tessa Ross | |
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| Born | Tessa Sarah Ross 1961 (age 63–64) London, England |
| Alma mater | Somerville College, Oxford |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1986–present |
Tessa Sarah RossCBE (born 1961) is an English film producer and executive. She received theBAFTA Award forOutstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award and was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom byWoman's Hour in 2013.[1][2] She is anhonorary fellow of theNational Film and Television School.[3] In the2010 New Year Honours, she was appointed aCBE for services to broadcasting.[4]
Ross was designated Head of Film atChannel 4 in 2000 and ranFilm4 andFilm4 Productions from 2002 to 2014. In 2011, she was appointed to the Board of theRoyal National Theatre, and became Chief executive in 2014. She resigned in April 2015, citing concerns over the new leadership structure, but remained working with the National Theatre as a consultant.[5]
Ross has been the executive producer of a number of notable British films, includingBilly Elliot (2000),The Last King of Scotland (2006),This Is England (2006),Happy-Go-Lucky (2008),Slumdog Millionaire (2008),Hunger (2008),Four Lions (2010),127 Hours (2010),Shame (2011),12 Years a Slave (2013),Under the Skin (2013),Ex Machina (2015),45 Years (2015),Room (2015), andCarol (2015). For her work producingConclave (2024), she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Picture & won theBAFTA Award for Best Film.
Ross was born to aJewish family[6] in 1961 in London. The daughter of a lawyer and teacher, she attendedWestminster School, and graduated fromSomerville College, Oxford in 1980.[2] Ross read oriental studies and Chinese at Oxford and became interested in theatre. She was president of the dramatic society and directed many plays, later getting postgraduate theatre training.[7][8][6] She is now an Honorary Fellow of Somerville College.[9]
After graduating from Oxford, Ross became aliterary agent in 1986.[10][11] She then segued into television, commissioning work forBill Bryden, who had worked at theRoyal National Theatre and was the head of theBBC Scotland drama department. She also worked as ascript editor.[10][8] Ross was married at the time and left when she became pregnant. She then returned to London, and in 1990 ran the National Film Development Fund, which later became British Screen.[10][12]
In 1993, Ross worked again at BBC. She ran the Independent Commissioning Group for Drama from 1993 to 2000, commissioning many film and television projects, includingBilly Elliot andClocking Off.[8][10][12] In 2000, she worked atChannel 4, where she became Head of Drama and was later appointed Head of Film.[8] Ross ranFilm4 andFilm4 Productions from 2002 to 2014.[4][11][13] She was appointed as a Governor of theBritish Film Institute in 2010.[14] The following year, she was appointed to the Board of the Royal National Theatre, and became Chief executive in 2014.[4][1] She resigned in April 2015, citing concerns over the new leadership structure, but remained working with the National Theatre as a consultant.[5]
Ross is an Honorary Associate ofLondon Film School.
Ross resides inCamden, London. She is married to a marketing consultant, and has three children.[15][6]
Films Ross has executive produced.
She has also served as co-producer on the following films:
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